Lover, Lover
by ClearaMorph
Summary: Something is wrong with Morph, he isn't acting like his usual self, he wasn't even pulling pranks anymore. Meanwhile, Jubilee excitedly prepares for her ladies campout. However, when a family tragedy strikes, it upsets her, and everyone and everything. A true test of character can be formed in these very hard and trying situations. Can something good come out of this tragedy?
1. Not Himself

**_Lover, Lover_**

 ** _Not Himself_**

Something is wrong with Morph, or is there? It's hard to tell with him at times, but he wasn't acting like his usual self. Heck, he wasn't even pulling pranks anymore. Meanwhile, Jubilee is super excited as she prepares for her ladies campout. However, when a family tragedy strikes her, it upsets her, her plans, as well as everyone and everything. A true test of character can be formed in these very hard and trying situations. Can something good come out of this tragedy?

Jubilee had been looking forward to it all month long, and in just 2 and ½ days she would be spending 4 long glorious days with her foster mother, backpacking, hiking, biking, and camping, in the great outdoors, in the woods, and fishing too. Jubilee had joined a women's and girls' club, awhile back, at Scott's suggestion, that it might be good for her. But the truth was Scott wanted her to join so she would not be around to go out on missions, because frankly, she was too young to go on them, and it was too dangerous, for her to go on them. But as such, the women's and girls' club would fuel all of her needs and desires for adventure and freedom, and her desire to be outside in the great outdoors, in a safe way, rather than her desires to go out on dangerous missions with the others. But as the days had got nearer to the big day, a tragedy struck. However, as in most tragedies, something good can and will always come right in after to eclipse the bad situation, if you have eyes to see. Especially for those who believe. "You promise that you'll keep the weather sunny and balmy right?"

"Yes, child, I know how important this weekend is for you; I promise I will keep the weather beautiful for you."

"Thanks, Storm, I knew I can count on you, for that." It was a late breakfast; as it was getting much closer to lunchtime, so it was more or less a brunch, although usually those were reserved for the weekends; but one mutant was having his first meal of the day, so it was okay, it was a bit late. A few of the others who were there were just having a bit of fruit and coffee or tea and helping Jubilee to get things ready for her trip. They had made sure that she was all set for the trip, making sure that she had everything she needed, namely a tent, a sleeping bag, getting a fishing pole and some tackle from the attic, and making sure she had a fishing license for her trip, and of course a new bike. She had been riding it all week to get used to the new exercise she would be doing, which wasn't too bad as her legs were already strong from her skateboarding around. Jubilee had caught Morph doing it, again. He was looking at her. Morph had been doing that a lot, ever since he had come back home just a few days ago. "What?" Course she had been doing the same too, on off, when he wasn't looking, or the others, to notice it. Was she crushing on him? Nah, he was far too old for her. Though he is cute and very funny. Not to mention frankly she was glad that he was back at home; she had missed him so much. Maybe that's why she was sneaking glances at Morph because she had missed him so much and she wanted to know him a lot better than just by all those impersonal emails phone calls and letters she sent him, but actually, talk to him in person. The problem was Morph was still very sleepy or a bit groggy still. His sleeping schedule was completely out of whack. He was up late into the night until the wee hours of the morning, which made him the perfect night guard and watchman. Course when he did get to bed he didn't sleep too long just a few hours and he was up again and tired and groggy, and probably a little grumpy too. As such he wasn't much into talking right now as he apparently usually is.

"I didn't say anything." _Hmm, should I tell her, and my little secret? Nah. I don't know how she will react to it when I tell her. She would never believe me, and I also know what Logan and the others will do, when I do, show and tell them, what I've been hiding. I should tell her though; I think she might understand why I did it, though. I mean; it is the whole reason why Jubilee is going away on this trip; we're in the same boat. Or at least I would be if I weren't a shapeshifter._

"Then why do you look like you got a question for me?"

"Just happy for you is all. Can't I be happy for you? I feed off of everyone else's happiness like a vampire," Morph says growing vampire teeth and slurps up his orange juice with them. "Oh you're gonna have so much fun on your trip. Oh, I'll dig you up some nice big juicy worms, for all those fish that you'll be catching and eating. It sounds like a very fun weekend that you're preparing for. It's all you're talking about. Wish I could come, I love to fish, hike, bike, and go camping."

"It's just for girls. Sorry."

"Well, still, I can imagine how much fun I would have if I were going with you."

"It's for girls, Morph, not guys, just girls."

"Need I remind you…"

"I don't care; even if you can, look like a girl, it doesn't count, because you're still a boy. You still have guy parts in your trousers. "

"Excuse me, Jubilee, but those change, when I switch genders. Yes, I can leave my guy bits there, if I so chose to, but when I do change to a female, everything changes, down there."

"Ewww! Really? But you still can't pee like one."

"Yes, I can, actually," he says firmly and confidently, and on the verge of giggles.

"Ewww. That's disgusting!"

Morph rolled his eyes, such a tease, so he teased right back, at her possible immaturity, on the subject. She was certainly acting as if she didn't know a thing about that, at all. "Have any of you given her, the birds and the bees, and the shapeshifter, talk, yet? Because if you haven't, yet, you really need to have it, before this weekend. And if you don't; I'll give it to her, in great detail."

Logan rolled his eyes, knowing what was going on, she was joking with him, trying to get a rise out of him. Those two were a pair, Morph usually liked to be the one who was teasing and or trying to embarrass someone. Seemed Morph has finally met his match, perhaps. Or at least found someone with his own mindset. "She's already had, the talk, and, that one, as well. Right? You're just teasing him right, trying to harass and embarrass the poor guy."

Jubilee giggled and nodded. "Have you really peed like a girl, like literally, I mean, like with actual girl bits?"

"Yes I have, both out of curiosity and necessity."

"Ewww. Gross! You pee like a girl, you mean you actually sit and squat, instead of standing, when you go to the bathroom? Wow! I didn't think you did go to the bathroom!"

It was actually kinda funny she was doing this to him, in fact, he liked it. Morph shook his head and chuckled at her joking silliness, to think that. Okay, maybe she hadn't caught him going to or heading off to the bathroom yet, to say that, as a joke, but that certainly wasn't true at all. "Oh shut up, Jubilee, you don't think I don't go to the bathroom, well I do, and let me inform you, that everyone pees and poops; unless they got some serious problems, like yours. Oh, and if you are trying to embarrass me, good luck, with that, because I don't embarrass all that easily. In fact, the bathroom; is one of my favorite subjects, for jokes. Oh, and FYI, I don't mind sitting to pee, at all. Now if we can get these big lugs here to put the toilet seat back down after they're done, for us, it would be a miracle, to finally get them all, actually, potty trained." Oooh, the dirty looks he got from the other guys, especially with a guffawing smiling and agreeing nod Jubilee gave to agree with him about that!

Beast noticed that despite being picked or teased on, Morph was well, picking at breakfast, odd, since usually; he would eat a lot of food to fuel his energy reserves. But lately or rather since returning his energy levels, he had noticed, dipped drastically. He hardly ate, and wasn't pranking either, he still jokes, and smiles, in fact, he was doing that, smiling, quite a lot more, so it wasn't depression. "You hardly touched your breakfast or brunch."

"I know; I'm just not that hungry."

"Morph, I think I would like to give you an examination, once you finish eating, to see if you're all right."

"No. Don't bother wasting your time. Moira already gave me one, a thorough one, right before I left. I'm perfectly healthy."

"But you're hardly eating. This isn't like you, considering your normally energetic hyperactive lifestyle, you usually consume…"

"I know, but I'm just not hungry, okay. Oh, it happens, it just happens," he half hummed as he says that, with a slight sigh in his voice. "I'm fine, really."

"Really, I have yet to see or experienced one of your usual pranks. My friend, that's very highly unusual and suspect coming from you."

"Maybe, I've grown up a little, and grown out of doing that."

Scott actually laughs loudly at hearing that! Normally he didn't find Morph too funny, or the things he said, or did, but this was genuinely funny; because he knew… "Liar, liar, pants on fire! The day you give up pranking, is the day I'll stop being the leader of the X-Men!"

"Hey, Storm, I hear that there's an opening for the leader of the X-Men." She shook her head. "Hey, Logan, are you looking to lead the team? I know you would do a much better job than one-eye over here."

"Yeah, well as much as that sounds like fun, I don't think that's going to happen since there's no way you would ever give up pulling pranks," Logan chuckled he knew his best friend all too well. Something was up.

Beast knew something was wrong, for him to change this drastically too. In fact, it was very suspicious, or something had changed, and it wasn't Morph, doing the changing, as in shapeshifting. "What is wrong, my friend? There's got to be something wrong, or you're brewing up something big, one of the two. So what is it?"

"The only thing wrong with me is I'm a little sad that the Professor is gone, like all of us, I miss him not being here. That and the jet-lag I have; it might be the reason, why, I don't have much energy right now, let alone for pranks, or have much of an appetite. I should be over the jet-lag in another day or so. And I'm not brewing up anything, I can't even brew up a fart right now, and I wish I could, I haven't even…since Muir Island," he politely hints at a problem he is having, that might not show up on any medical exam, or at least not until after he had left the place, because that's when, and why it started, the jet-lag.

"Oh is that all it is, no wonder you don't feel yourself, constipation, it can make you feel unlike yourself. It's not unusual to get that with jet-lag, at all, or to feel off as you are, as I'm sure a loss of appetite along with it is also very normal as well." Convinced that was the real problem Morph was having; bothered him no more than to aid him to get rid of the problem. "We have chamomile tea that will help you to rest and sleep better. As for the other, I shall give you something natural to help you with moving your bowels."

"Thanks, Beast, really appreciate talking about my, butt problems, at the table, while I'm trying to eat. Now if you'll excuse me, now I've really have lost my appetite." He got up and took his plate and left the dining area.


	2. Is He Leaving Us?

**_Is He Leaving Us?_**

"Logan, you are sure that is, Morph, right," Scott asked, long after he had left and Scott was sure Morph or his double was well out of earshot. That couldn't be the real Morph, the real Morph he would have talked about and or joked about his, butt problems, as he put it, at the dining table, gladly, without restraint, constipated or not!

"Yeah, why?"

"Then something is really wrong with him then. You know him, he makes fart jokes and finds everything funny and can make a joke about just about any and everything, not to mention joke and talk about said things without restraint. In fact, he just mentioned the bathroom was his favorite subject for jokes. So for Morph not being able to joke about it, that, not being able to poop, even if that is the big problem, means, that there is something else, other than that. That there is something really seriously wrong with him."

"If he says he's fine; then he's fine, I believe him. You know how blunt he can be. Cut the kid some slack, Cyke, he just got back from Muir Island, the Professor is gone, and we are all feeling it, the effects of that still, even Morph, on top of his jet-lag. That's probably why he's acting a bit differently. We all deal with grief or loss in different ways. I mean now that the Professor is gone, Morph is gonna have some heavier responsibilities here, ones that maybe he's not ready to have yet. Don't push him, or put it on him, if he can't handle it, or he will take off. I guarantee it."

"Why would he take off, when he just got back here?"

"Ugh, Cyke, you don't get it, do you? When is his birthday?"

Jubilee's ears were instantly perked up upon hearing this. She had neglected to ask him that; when his birthday is, and maybe it wasn't too late to get him something or at least wish him a belated one, or prepare for it at least. Hell, she hadn't even told him hers and she had it recently not too long ago had her birthday and party, and had really wished Morph had come home early to be there with her at her party. He probably would have gotten a real good kick out of it, considering what a prankster he is. Jubilee guessed he was an Aquarius, but probably not, no, given the best word that everyone has to describe him was, jovial, so that would probably make him a…"

"Umm, I think it's, uh… it's December…7th, I think, right, so…"

"Yeah it is, man, I can't believe you, that you can't even remember that."

"Well sorry. But it's not his birthday or anywhere close to it."

"Well, it has something to do with his birthday. If he was born on December 7th then what does that make him?"

"Uhh…"

"He's a Sagittarius." Jubilee figured it out before Scott could spit it or could figure it out in his head what his star sign is. The fact was, Morph being a Sagittarius made such perfect sense, and well considering his personality, it fits him perfectly, jovial, was the keyword and the best way to describe him perfectly and it fit him to the T. Jubilee knew one person in the orphanage that was one, and she was pretty funny and always running away whenever she could. So it came as no shock, to hear Morph had done that one time, but then a bigger shock, when Logan told him what he did.

"Yes, a Sagittarius, and Sag's don't like being cooped up, so if you pull that stunt on him then he might just take off. He's done it once before, for almost a month he was gone. In fact, he might be feeling a bit antsy to take off, right now. That might be why Morph's not eating is because he's feeling guilty, because he _does_ feel like leaving us, right now, but knows he needs to stay. So that's what's making him so miserable, is because he's feeling trapped, and he doesn't like it, one bit."

"So if Morph is leaving us, then what should I say or do, then, to make him stay?"

"Nothing, give him his space. That's the best thing you can do, is to give him his space. Let him sort it out, and don't pressure him if he isn't ready. It's one thing if he has to do an interview here and there, it's quite another to make him go to all those meetings and try to do all those things, that the Professor was doing, especially after what happened to the Professor. So if you pressure him to do that, he's gonna up and leave; and he might not come back this time. He may still be one, but he may not be ready, yet, to be one of us, if at all, after what he's been through. Morph may not be over it yet. So he could have just come back here to say goodbye to the Professor and might be leaving us soon after he spends some time with us. Off to find greener pastures, someplace else, after what's happened."

"I don't feel like eating either." Not that she was, she had breakfast already, but she just felt so sick right then. That hit hurt, to hear that, Morph, leaving, or wanting to. Jubilee felt absolutely sick to the pit of her stomach and almost wanted to puke. She had to talk him out of it if she could. She found him upstairs, eating in his room. She approached his door; it was partly open; so she knocked, and she sighed already feeling he might reject her for being here. "Can I come in?'"

"It's a free country, we should all be thankful."

"Uhh…"

"That's a yes." If it were anyone else aside from Logan he would have said no.


	3. Did You Really Miss Me?

**_Did You Really Miss Me?_**

Well at least he was eating again, so maybe he hadn't completely lost his appetite, or he just didn't want to eat with the others. So that must really mean then, that he is… Jubilee tried not to look, nor sound, nor get upset, but her countenance betrayed her emotions. "So, you'd rather eat up here in your room, rather than eat with rest of the others? Funny that; I thought you were the outgoing type, given your personality, or so everyone told me about you, you sure are."

"If I feel like being an introvert, I will be one. I'm mutable after all."

"Well then I'll do all the talking if you can't right now, you can just listen then."

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, oh you're so cute."

"Well, thanks; I think you're pretty handsome yourself, for an older guy."

"Hee, hee, hee, hee," _if she only knew,_ but, "you don't know what mutable means do you?"

"Sure I do, it means you can't speak or talk."

"That's mute, mutable means changeable, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, and that's also quite literal with me. So that means I can go from one extreme to the other in my personality, on any given day."

"Is that normal with Sagittarius's? I once knew a girl in the orphanage who was one. She only settled down some once she got adopted and got a home."

Man, it was hitting him, with her saying that; that problem, and now really thinking about it, wasn't helping. Neither was being up late, the last few nights, helping the other one, if anything, it just made the problem much worse. Of course, he couldn't sleep if he tried; so he just did security rounds until he felt tired enough for bed, for the past few nights. "Uh-hmm," Morph said wearily, "and some Sagittarius's they are very shy, or can be shy and then be very extroverted later on in life, or the other way around."

"So you're becoming shy now?"

"I wouldn't say that. I just need my downtime, right now, to ponder over some stuff, in my head, and my heart, on what I want to do, need to do, and, what I have to do."

 _Logan is right! Maybe he really is thinking of leaving us! I gotta stop him, but how!?_ She felt and looked so upset, panicked, that he was really thinking it over, of leaving them, again! Morph was worse than Logan, for taking off. "Maybe you just need a big hug and an afternoon nap, maybe it's just the jet-lag, making you feel that way."

"That sounds very nice, and I'd love a cuddle right now, from you."

 _No problem! Anything I can do to help you chose to stay._ "So you would like a hug? Would that make you feel all better?"

"Yes, that would make me feel a whole lot better, yes. But I think I would like more than just a hug from you." Putting his plate on the end table as he got up, he was done with it anyhow, there was some food left in it, but he was done eating. _If anything you're the one who needs the hug, you look so upset, I can sense it your sadness and upset state. What is it? You gotta tell me. Maybe I can fix it._

 _Well, if it will help_ , she was a bit squeamish, because mostly it was Morph, and she wasn't sure exactly what he wanted. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes; so Jubilee knew, Morph wanted something. Just what that something; was; was the big problem. What _did_ he want? "Uh, okay, uh," she shyly cautiously approached him and hugged him.

"Now who's being shy, I'm not gonna bite, unless you want me to." Making pointed teeth in his mouth and teeth clacking biting them a bit.

She didn't know or understand why, but she relaxed instantly, as soon as Morph did that. She hugged him tightly, and gave him a little tickle, just to make him smile and hear that laugh of his she adored. She would miss it when he leaves; she had missed it when he was gone. With a giggle from him, then one came from her, as he tickled her right back. As he embraced her tightly he playfully hugs her as he playfully hugging wrestled her slightly, and suddenly, she was on his bed. With a giggle he got sort of on top of her for just for a moment, as he flipped over Jubilee's body, and over onto his side, so he was right beside her; face-to-face with her on his bed, as he smiled right at her. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Now she was in position, to tell him what he wanted to know, the truth. But first things first, "I want a cuddle, from you, and to take a nap. That's what I want. And I want you to take that nap with me, while we snuggle. Or just talk to me, you seem so sad, for some reason. Why?"

 _Snuggle as in…_ "Oh no, no we are not…" but all he did was put his arm around her and closed his eyes. "Huh?"

"Shhh, I'm tired, you're right, I do want a nap, and no, I'm not gonna do what you think I'm gonna do, I'm not that way, at all."

"So…you're gay?"

"No, I'm straight, unless you mean happy, because I am, very happy."

"Oh, glad to hear it. So then why are you, holding me like this?"

He opened his eyes, "Because I missed you, okay, and I thought this might help you. You look so sad for some reason. I can't stand it, seeing you so sad, or anyone sad, for no reason. So I thought you might need a cuddle from me is all, to cheer you up, more than I need one from you. Besides, I've been gone for over 2 years. So don't you think that I would start to miss all of you in that time?"

"Even me?"

"Even you, especially you. Through all those letters and emails and video chats, I got to know you better, a lot better. So I was missing you just as much as I was missing all the others, and being home." _Maybe more._

"I missed you too." She had terribly, just as he had. Jubilee cuddle hugged him as she relaxed with Morph's strong arm around her, and she too soon found herself drifting off, or feeling it. He was right this was cheering her right up, even though she knew he still might…

"Glad to hear it."

So he was staying, Morph was staying. Good. "So, you're staying, you're not gonna leave us, then," she asked.

"Why would I do that?"

"You're a Sagittarius, that's what you do. That's what the girl in the orphanage always did, ran away, any chance she got. Until she was adopted. Plus, she just couldn't stand it there; living there, but I couldn't blame her for that. Even Logan figured you were antsy to leave, but you felt guilted into staying here and didn't like it, and that's why you weren't eating much."

"Oh, I see. Is that why you're so upset because you think I'm leaving you, and the X-Men?"

Jubilee nodded quietly, trying to not let the tears she felt stinging her eyes betray her. But that shudder in her voice sure did, "Yeah, you can't leave us, we need you, and besides, I really missed you, while you were gone."

"So you just don't want to me to leave, again, is that it, why you're so upset?"

"Yeah, it is. I missed you, so much." She hugged him tightly, letting the tears come. "So it hurt me to hear that, that you might be up and leaving us again. Though this time, for a completely different reason, besides to finish getting better." She hugged him tightly fearing this might be the last chance she could do so, and express to him how much she cared for him and had missed him while he was away, and how much he meant to her. "We all missed you, and we don't want to lose you."

"Mmm, ohh, I know, I missed you too, all of you. I'll be more careful next time. Mmm, oh I just love your hugs, so nice, and well if it makes you feel any better; I'm planning on staying here for a least little while anyhow. I do have responsibilities here anyhow, after all; more so now."


	4. Is He Maybe, Just Sick?

**_Is He Maybe, Just Sick?_**

"So you are leaving then. Great, that's just great."

"I never promised I wouldn't leave."

"Oh, Morph…" She wanted to follow him, go with him; be with him. Wherever that might be. However, 'Give him his space'; Logan's words rang in her head.

Morph rubbed her shoulder and her back a bit, as he smiled at her. "I'll let you know before I go, so you can say bye to me, and I'll call you, every day, if I can, okay, if it will make you feel better. Plus I will have my X-Man com-link with me, so you can easily get ahold of me if you do need me for anything. Same with the others."

"So this is what Sagittarius's, do, they always just up and leave, and without warning." She could take that but just not him leaving again, especially forever this time.

"Hey, sometimes you just need a break from things. To try to put it into perspective, I'm sure, at certain times of the month, you don't want to be around anyone either. Or to be left alone or just do your own thing. I'm the same way. Sometimes I just want to; and need to, get away, even if it's to a crowded place like a mall, just to get away for a bit from my friends and things. I'm not spurning them or anything. Just. If I don't want to be around someone or people then I leave. It's as simple as that. I get overloaded, too much stimulation. Just like a baby, if they get too overstimulated, they're unhappy and shut down, and I'm the same. So yeah, I'll leave at times. I get my downtime, and then I'm fine again. I'm a people person a social butterfly, so yeah I need to be around people and friends and family alike. So I don't take off forever. And if I do take off, it's because I get restless, and I feel like taking off for whatever reason; sometimes I don't even need a reason."

"But why are you thinking of leaving us, if you are? And when? I don't want you to leave us not again; it was bad and hard enough without you here, when you were getting better. I missed you so much. I don't want you to leave again. Especially permanently."

"I dunno when. When I can, I guess. But I'm not leaving, leaving; no way, no how, not at all, not unless something big, or bad happens, to make me have to, or want to leave, permanently. I'm not going to ever leave the X-Men, not until the day I die, or die again. But yeah, in fact, I'm planning on leaving, just as soon as I can. But I'm just going to take a little trip, for a few days, maybe 2 weeks, or more, if I can get away with it. I do have my family that I would like to go see, you know. I mean they did think I was dead for a few months there, I mean Cyke did call them, I found out. Plus the time that I was away getting better. If I do take off, it will be only to see them and I'll be back sometime later, or when you guys need me if I do have to come back early. I'm not leaving the X-Men, not at all. I just want to go see my family is all."

"Promise?"

"I promise. You don't have to worry about me leaving like that permanently. I love being an X-Man, and you guys are my family too. Plus I get all the fun, excitement, adventure, and wanderlust I have for travel fulfilled being one when I get to go out on missions. So I would never give that up, or on being one, or part of the team because I also know this is my purpose in life, and why God put me here with them. It's just I really miss my actual family right now, so much. I haven't seen them in so long, and I know that they sure miss me," Morph yawns with a slight stretch as he cozy's down with a slight sigh, more than ready to sleep.

"So is that it, the problem, you're just homesick?"

Eyes closed, he slowly, softly, sleepily spoke, "Mmm-hmm, yeah, that's one of the things, that I'm suffering from, is that, and as you know, it can only really be cured, one way, by going home. As for the other thing, well, _that_ ; might be harder to cure, if at all," he said slower quieter, tiredly as he…

"What's the other thing?"

"Oh, hmm…"

"Morph?" He didn't answer, so she rested too. Glad to know he wasn't leaving the team. But a little worried, but more perplexed, on what the other thing is that he mentioned was, that he might not be able to be cured of, if at all. Well, maybe Morph might talk to her more about it later, after their nap together. She just prayed it wasn't something incurable, or deadly.


	5. Pillow Talk

**_Pillow Talk_**

Stirring slightly, Morph stretched his back and legs a bit. But after opening them momentarily, he shut his eyes, trying to stay asleep or get back to sleep. He was so comfortable and happy getting to hold her in his arm, he didn't want to move, or get up. Not for nothing not for anything, right now. He only let out a contented, "Sigh, hmm," and tried to rest more.

She was gently woken up by his waking up and stretching, so she awoke when he did. Jubilee smiled back at him, her arm around him too, it felt nice, really nice, almost, right. She could see this, this happening, all the time. So she didn't want to ruin the moment, too much. But some nagging guilt panged at her. He was way too old for her. But he was pretty silly. So she appealed to that silly side, if she could, by tickling him under the chin with a finger. Besides, they should be getting up. She had to wonder if the others weren't looking for them, or wondering where they were, or worse, up to, or if anyone saw them in bed like this, together, already, spotting them, in such a, compromising, position, together. The door was open after all, and if any of the other X-Men did see them like this, while they slept, what would they have to say about it? Though they weren't doing anything, wrong, at all, but holding each other, and taking a nap together, with each other, but still, the implications of seeing that alone, could raise up some big questions, like were they an item now, when they certainly weren't, or worse, had done the dirty together. Jubilee tickles his chin a bit more and he finally opens his eyes, and pretends to bite her finger off, for doing that! "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh," she giggled. Then scratched under his chin a bit more, he was a scruffy under there, all over actually, and snuggled in closer, just a bit, to nuzzle him. She was also playing a bit with his top, tugging at it a bit, at the top, but it was snug there so she tried the bottom, to see if she could just pull it out some, to see his belly. That might be enough convince her, to see if he was really wearing it, or anything for that matter. She had to wonder, at times, if Morph really did wear regular clothes or if he was just using his powers, to make it look like he was wearing clothes or rather his X-Man uniform. After all, aside from Jean and Scott's real wedding, she hadn't seen him in anything else besides that, and considering his powers, he might have been faking the tux he had on, and of course, that meant everything else that he really didn't have on.

Now he was awake, wide awake, "Hee, hee, what are you doing? Hey, keep your naughty little hands to yourself, you brat. What are you doing, trying to tickle me some more, there, to wake me up?"

"No, I'm just checking if you actually have clothes on or not. Thought you might fake that with your powers, and you're actually naked under there."

"Well technically, we're all naked under our clothes."

"Okay, that is true. So?"

"The only thing got on under there is my underwear, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, I got underpants on do I have clothes on, Jubilee. See," he pulls his top up a bit and his bottoms slightly down and pulls up on the waistband of his underwear, there was a tearing ripping sound. "Oh shoot, and well, there they go, darn it. Oh well, it was bound to happen one of these days, they're so worn-out. Oh shoot, what the heck," he finishes the job, and tear pulls them right off with a long ripping tearing sound and tosses them to the corner, since there really wasn't any point now, in wearing ripped underwear.

"What are you doing? Oh my, gosh, ha, ha, ha, you're gonna go commando in your uniform?"

"Well, I'm not wearing ripped underwear sagging down my backside all day long that's for darn sure. Anyhow, I've done that before, it's just; I'm not allowed to run around, naked. I would get into very big trouble if I did that. But I can and do get away with it at times, though, like in summer, or when I go swimming, I'll do that. But, me, and my big fat mouth; ruined it all; my fun little secret, that I can and do sometimes go around au natural. I really wish I hadn't mentioned it, how completely and unashamedly outgoing I am, and how hot it was that day. However, right now, it's still just a little bit cold to do that yet. Besides, I'd be up, the creek, and Scott would be the one using the paddle, on me, if he ever found that out, I do that still sometimes, so shhh."

"Cyclops would have your butt huh?"

"Over his knee, he warned me."

"Ha, ha, ha, heh, heh, heh, that he would, spank you, that he would actually, spank you?"

"Yup, if he ever caught me using my powers to make it look like I had clothes on, when I really didn't, yeah. Then I warned him if I ever do feel so, inclined, to strut around in my birthday garbs, that I certainly would be more than happy, to take all my, birthday spankings, as long as they were coming from Jean," he laughs.

"What did he say after that?"

"Nothing, he had nothing to say after that. He just warned me to put a uniform on, and leave it on until you go to bed at night or bathe or change your clothes."

"Oh, well, guess you got no choice then. That would be fun though to strut around naked. But Scott's too much of an uptight Capricorn; that he would never go for it, he's so shy at times I swear that he's actually an uptight Virgo in disguise."

"He is a Virgo."

"No, he's not; I know he's a Capricorn."

"Yeah, but his rising sign is Virgo. I thought it would be fun to do that; figure out all our star and rising or ascending signs one night. Oh, but you sure aren't kidding about how much of an uptight Virgo he is and a shy one at that, not to mention a neat nick germaphobe. Let's get a hot tub, I suggest one day. Never. Even though the others agreed with me, and argued with him how much fun it would be, not to mention how relaxing it would be, after a hard workout in the Danger Room, or mission, to relax and soak in one. No, do you know how many germs there are inside a hot tub, and worse, what people, do, in them? The guy was just blushing when he said that. So I figure, go for the gusto the big win, to try to win him over with that argument. Yeah, just imagine how much fun you can have with your girlfriend in the hot tub, late at night, when everyone's asleep in their bed. No, we're saving it for marriage. Okay, fair enough, I can agree to that, that's fine, that's great, good for you. So then, just imagine how much fun it will be, and how much more relaxing, it will be, for the both of you, having your first time, in a hot tub, on your wedding night. We can get it all prepared and everything for you, for the big night. No, no never ever, just drop it, Morph. I'll never get a hot tub, ever. That guy takes boring and mundane to the next level."

"Oh man, what a lame-o, that's what the chlorine, the filters, and the hot tub chemicals are for. You maintain it about every week to keep it clean and do your checks, and you clean it out every month or two or so depending on how often it gets used, and or how dirty it is."

"Yeah exactly. How do you know, about hot tubs?"

"We got one at my foster parent's place. I helped to maintain it and emptied it and filled it up when I was visiting and living there. We also got a pool too, so it goes with the territory as well."

"Oh man, lucky you, that sounds like a blast. I might just have to find out where you live, so I can visit your foster parent's place then, for a soak, and a swim."

"Ha, ha, I'll show you one day, heck, I'll even let you come over and go in it naked, proved you look like you got a swimsuit on. I promise I won't mind."

"Oooh! Don't say that. Because I'll hold you to it, that, for saying that to me. But I'll bet you wouldn't mind that at all. Hey, quit it, what are you doing to me?"

"Nuzzling your cheeks at bit more."

"Quit that. Have you fallen in love with my cheeks?"

"You need a shave, and I was nuzzling your prickly cheeks because it feels so good."

Giggling a bit, "Do I? Guess I'll have to take care of that later then, hmm."

"No, leave it, a little bit, till tomorrow morning, I like it, a little stubble," she nuzzled his scruffy cheek a bit more.

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, stop it, you're giving me goosebumps doing that. Besides, it might already be tomorrow. How long did we sleep for? Feels like a long time."

"Beats me what time it is, or how long we slept or napped for." She looked at it on the wall, hell if she knew, especially Roman numerals, those were even worse, "Uh, um, sorry I can't tell manual time, my dyscalculia."

"Oh, no, is it contagious?"

"No, you're born with it, like being a mutant. It's just something you're born with, it's also a learning limitation I have."

"Dyscalculia, dyscalculia," he took the word apart in his head, to try to figure it out. He had never heard of that before, and he was well read. "It sounds like a fear, a math fear to me."

"I can be. I can't do math well at all, and manual time I have a very hard time with that, so I go by digital. It affects me a little bit, in my learning, but not that much. Sometimes I'm a little bit of a slow learner for things. But when I get it, I get it, I got it for good, but it takes me longer to learn new things sometimes though. For instance cooking and measurements, I didn't get it at all. It took a while before it finally clicked that 3 teaspoons equal one tablespoon or 15 ml, it takes me awhile to get math concepts like that. I did get it though, so I know now for next time."

"I get it. You also got to figure out how you learn, the best, as everyone has their own way they learn the best, then it's a snap to learn, anything. Well not to worry, I don't use alarm clocks, let alone digital ones," he yawns, "so I don't rely on them to get up. Throw it out, you don't need them anyhow, you'll have a better nights rest, and your body will sleep and get up when it's ready to. So I'll get up when I'm darn good and ready to. Besides, there's nothing worse than turning over and looking at the clock reading 3 in the morning, ohh no, I'm still up, but I got work in the morning, and big presentation to do, and I still can't sleep. I've been awake for over 24 hours a few times and conked out for a good 12 or 14 hours or more and I was fine right after."

"Wow, and by then I'm sure you were dashing off with your hands between your legs while you were screaming, I gotta go, now! After sleeping for that long."

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, well I can hold it that long if I really need to especially if I'm sleeping. Not that I want to or enjoyed it, let alone the idea of doing so. In fact, that's my biggest pet peeve is a full bladder. But you have to be able to do that; learn to hold it in for a while, when need be. I've had to do that sometimes on some missions hold my pee in for hours. Yeah, by then, I was grabbing myself between the legs, cause I couldn't take it much longer, I really had to go. But you know sometimes you just can't get away to find a toilet or even a bush when you really need one. Let alone the privacy."

"Oooh, I'm surprised you don't have an accident, by then. That can't be good for you, to hold it for so long when you really gotta go, even on a mission."

"Well, it happens, from time to time, and yes accidents like that do happen, and can't be helped. Besides it being my biggest pet peeve, because of my powers, mostly, the funny thing is, I do have a way around it. I can cheat if I have to, with my powers. I can make my bladder bigger if I really need to, and sometimes, if need be, I can pee while I shapeshift, depending on the form I'm taking."

"Interesting, I never knew that about you. I wonder if all shapeshifters can do that. When was the last time you did that though, made your bladder bigger?"

"Last New Year's, while I slept. And before I tell you what happened, let me go on the record to say, I honestly did not want to get drunk, or at least that drunk. I didn't even know that I was drunk, or at least not until it was far too late. They had spiked the eggnog on purpose, to get me drunk, all because I refused to have more than a few sips of wine to ring in the New Year. I figured why not, a little sip won't hurt, but I didn't like the taste of it too much nor how it burned the back of my throat. So they had to get me plastered by tricking me into drinking alcohol, by putting it in the punch or the eggnog in this case. Sigh, and the problem was; I couldn't detect it because it didn't have that much taste to it. They confessed to me that they got me hammered on purpose."

"What, seriously, why, why would they do that?"

"Little bet they had going on, both for fun and money. Moira told me about it and why they did it. She also told me to drink a lot of water; it will make the hangover less severe. I took her advice. So when I got up the next day, I was still a little inebriated, or at least hungover. So when I looked at my belly, when I got out of bed, I go, oh my God, I'm pregnant! Who got me pregnant? I'm already 4 or more months along. Oh no, and I was drinking last night. What if I harmed the baby? Then it dawns on me, I made my bladder bigger and that was the effects of me not wetting my bed silly last night." Both mutants share a good laugh. "This wasn't my fault, Moira and her nurse friends and a few others all thought it might be funny to try to guess what kinds of drunks we would be, and tried to figure out what kind of drunk I would be."

"Silly drunk."

"You're close, and what's worse, is, though I haven't found it yet, I think it's on YouTube, the video Moira shot of me drunk. What's worse than that is what I did in that video. Let's just say I took being drunk to the extremely embarrassing side of things. Though I could probably do the same thing sober, I'm that kind of guy."

"Oh no. Let's see, so um, I think Beast might hang off the chandelier, while spouting off poetry he does it anyhow, hanging off things and the spouting poetry. So since you're so silly, do I dare think you're the lampshade drunk, one that thinks he can sing?"

"You got it, though I can sing quite well, normally. Moira confessed to me later that she won the bet and the pot of money, and gave me a share of it. She felt so guilty for getting me that drunk and giving me a bad hangover when I really didn't want to drink. But she guessed I would be the singing on a table with a lampshade on my head while cross-dressed, type, and yes, using my powers, counts."

Laughing, "Oh shoot, did you really?"

"Yup. So as you can well imagine after knocking a few back, that I really had to use the little shapeshifter's room," Jubilee giggles and nods. "Quite badly. Being Muir Island is a hospital facility, I'm sure you've seen them in a regular hospital that they have washrooms, a sink and toilet, and ones with shower facilities inside as well. But like most hospital facilities they also don't have washrooms with stalls in them, so multiple people can use them. I had to go pee so badly and the ones I tried were occupied by the other patients and partygoers. One of the ones I tried someone inside said, we're going to be awhile, maybe they were having sex in there, I don't know. Another one I could clearly hear was throwing up in there, ugh; I didn't want to go back there if it was nasty. Yet another said he would be awhile, that he has an upset tummy, aka diarrhea. By then it was getting quite urgent and critical that I find one to use quick. I was thinking of my options, find a plant, open a window, or go in the medical supply closet to find an adult diaper to use."

Jubilee laughs loudly. Morph was a really good storyteller and had to wonder if any of this was true. If she found or maybe asked for that video of him drunk, it would prove if he was making this up or not. Not only that, but she could also easily ask Moira if she did get Morph drunk last New Year's. "Oh, tell me, you didn't pee in a diaper. That would be just a little too weirdly kinky for me."

"No, but I was running out of options. I need a clean available uncopied bathroom, with some privacy, before my bladder explodes on me. I'm thinking, I think, oh wait, Moira, she has one in her bedroom. Yeah, I'll go use her bathroom. I had gotten to know pretty much the whole place and where things were, so I knew from the few times I was allowed in her room, and that time I used it to know she has one. So I race down the hallway to her room to go use the bathroom in her room. I get in her bedroom and closed the door, and zip into her adjoining ensuite bathroom; I tear down my pants and undies and plop on the toilet, ahh, just made it. So I'm sitting there, enjoying the relief…"

"And why were you sitting, do you normally do that, sit to pee?"

"It was just automatic for me; still to this day, I'll do it because that was the rule in my home. You put the seat back down when you finish and or the lid, and always sit at night to not make a mess or miss. Or worse leave the seat up for the next person getting up to use the toilet, splash! Plus Moira only allowed me to use her bathroom if I sat down, so I just did it. Plus it was at night so the night rule sit came to mind. So I'm sitting there enjoying the relief and I realize I'm in Moira's room, hey, I'm in, Moira's room, ohh oooh; I'm so going to make the most of this, and be a little bit naughty, and have a little look-see, have a little snoop around."

"Oh, of course, had to have a little panty raid did ya?"

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, oh, something like that. I just had a snoop to see what kind of stuff she had, she had a few interesting things from a few different places that I had wanted to have a good look at earlier, but she didn't let me touch. So of course, I had my little snoop and then went on to see what else she had for clothes. The last place I had a look was in her closet, where all her dresses were." Jubilee started giggling seeing where this is going. "Yup, I snoop around and I spot it, the most beautiful dress I ever laid my eyes on. It was silky, with flower prints, and it was purple, my absolute favorite color. I knew I had to try it on."

Jaw dropped, "You didn't! You mean with your powers, right, you made a copy of it, right?"

"Nope, I stripped right down and actually put it. I was drunk; I didn't care what the heck I was doing. I just wanted to try it on, you know, for future reference."

"Oh, sure, of course," Jubilee nodded, giggling away.

"So I strip everything off, boots, uniform top, and bottom, everything, and I mean everything, and put the dress on. I did have to make a few adjustments here and there, but other than that I did fit into it and thought I looked beautiful in it. Course I was drunk, and I could make myself a woman if I wanted to, my alter ego. But I didn't stop there, oh no, nope, I needed to accessorize as well, to finish off this gorgeous ensemble. So I go back in her closet and put on her high heels, course I had to adjust them to make them fit, and hmm, I'm missing something, aha, a chapeau. The lampshade, of course, it's beautiful with those flowers on it too, it's just what I need." They both just laugh. "So I head back, slightly uncoordinated as I get used to walking in those damn heels intoxicated as I was. Finally, I get it together and stroll off to where the party is happening. Down the hallway, wanting to show off I start calling for her. Moira, hey Moira, Moira, hey Moira, Moira, get the camera ready, Moira baby, get the camera ready, and rolling for me, because, I got to show you something. Oh, my, gosh, hee, hee, hee, hee, and this is where I really embarrass myself, in front of everyone, and why I want to get my hands on that video so hopefully I can get it removed. I go running in there and skid in on my knees, after Moira says I'm ready for ye, Morph. I go, hee-e-e-r-r's, and I say my name. First time I told anyone there what it was. Check out who's the life of the party, it's me, and I say my name again. I guess I'm a big blabbermouth when I'm drunk. Moira says is that me wine dress you have on? Don't whine. But yes, it is. You should have had it one with all the wine you're drinking. But don't worry; I put it on for you. I must say, it looks much sexier on me though, don't you think? Get it off right now. I do have it off. I've gotta show you, I do have it off, and I'll show you all. So I get up on the table and this is where I make an idiot of myself. Look, everyone, I'll show you I got nothing on below! Because I'll present to you all, the comic stylings of funniest mutant I know, me! No underwear lines for me, nope, I got no undies on. Then I sing and dance. I'm not wearing any underwear today. I flash them, front end. No, I'm not wearing underwear today. I dance around a bit more and flash the back end this time. Not that you probably care, much about my underwear, still nonetheless, I gotta say. I twirl around at least twice and flash everything below. That I'm not wearing underwear today! Then I moon them all, as I take a big bow. Moira must have seen it Avenue Q because she yells out the next line. Get a job! Thank you, honey. Uh, Moira. I do have a job; I'm an X-Man."

Laughing, "Oh man I can't believe you did that, a good incentive not to drink huh?"

"Oh yeah, especially since I didn't want to get that drunk ever again."

"What is Avenue Q though?"

"Basically it's the adult version of the Muppet Show or Sesame Street. Only with a lot more musical numbers."

"Oh. So uh, want to do something?"

"Sure, like what? Sleep some more, maybe?"

"Oh really, so after all that, you're saying you're still tired?"

"Yeah, I am a little. I could go for another nap. What did you have in mind though?"

"Thought maybe we can maybe take off to go see your family, for a bit, if they don't live too far away, or at least your parents. Make you feel better, to try to get over your homesickness."

"As much as I would love to, we can't make a day trip out of it; not really, it's kinda a bit of a drive to get there. And I don't feel up to flying over there unless I know for sure they're going to be there, and chances are they will make me stay when I do come over there. Heck, I haven't even called home yet, to tell them that I'm back, because of that. Besides, you gotta get back here to get ready for your trip, anyhow, if we tried to do that. You'd need to get a good night's sleep, so you'll have enough energy to do all your biking and hiking and whatever else. Not spend it crashing at my home, sleeping in a strange bed or on a couch. Not only that, you need to make sure you do have everything you need, packed up ready to go, like marshmallows, gram crackers, chocolate, sunscreen, and bug spray."

"That's what I'm forgetting sunscreen and bug spray and a bikini. I had a big growth spurt not too long ago, and I outgrew a few of my things, and I will need that, there is a lake there after all. So that means swimming as well as fishing. So, want to go to the mall?"

"Oh heck, yeah, let's go! I need to get some new clothes too, and especially underwear, now, anyhow. Besides, I had a growth spurt or two and outgrew everything that I had too, a year or so after I came here."

And just like that, he was up, and climbed right over her, and fell flat on his ass, laughing about it, but got up and was still up ready to go just like that, just like a shot out of a gun, point and shoot! "So much for taking another nap. You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine; I'm a bit of a klutz sometimes. If you can't laugh at yourself…"

"Right. You gonna put on some regular clothes or at least some other underwear?"

"Can't, that was the last pair of undies I have available right now; the other two are in the wash. I put them in right before I went for brunch. They may be clean now but they're not dry," grabbing the ripped remains and tossing them into the trash bin he has in his room. "So I'm out for now."

"No it's not; you do have one extra one, you can put on, in an emergency situation like this."

"What, I do, where?"

"Your uniform, what do you call that?"

"Oh, hee, hee, hee, all right, turn around then, while I get dressed."

"I gotta go, I'll do that while you change, and get some cash or plastic. I'll meet you back here or wherever after, to head off to the mall."

"Sounds good, see you in a few," they parted ways for a bit to take care of their business and she met him back in his room, ready to leave.


	6. Morph's Big Mouth

**_Morph's Big Mouth_**

She looked him over; he could really pull it off, simple jeans, a tucked in black shirt, with a belt, and his X-Man brown bomber jacket on. Though aside from the jacket and underwear, she doubted he really had those clothes on. "Nice, clothes, Morph."

"Like them? I made them myself."

If anything that confirmed it. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, you know, you just brought new meaning to that term. Okay, let's get out of here if you're ready."

"Yup, I got everything I need, including some cash to get new garbs, you?"

"Yup, just how we're getting out of here."

"We could sneak out. It's more fun that way. You don't have acrophobia do ya?"

"No…oh my. All right, let's do it!" Already knowing exactly what Morph had in mind as she looked at the balcony out on his window. It looked like something made just for that, for flying off of as a bird. That would be so much fun, jumping and flying out of here with Morph. "By the way, are you taller, or is it just me? Because you look a lot taller to me."

"So you noticed. This is my real height. I usually shrink myself so I don't seem so tall. I don't like the idea of being so intimidating, with my natural height. But I figure if I'm going to go get myself some new clothes, I have to get ones that actually fit me, right, so I went back to my real height, instead of shrunk down a bit."

"You shouldn't do that, I like tall guys."

"Oh, you like me, you really like me!"

"Yeah, I like you." _A lot._

"Oh be still my beating heart," then suddenly his jacket went away but had been replaced with a watch. Morph checked his pulse and once realizing that he 'had none', collapsed to the floor nicking himself on the wicker end table on the way down. "Ow, son of blankety-blank, bleep!"

"Are you all right," she asks while laughing.

"No, unh, I'm not, I accidentally nicked myself on that. You think that's funny?"

"No, I think what you said was funny, instead of swearing."

"Oh, unh, ohh, oh man, ohh, that really hurts."

"Ohh, oooh, oh well no wonder, you got a chunk of…oooh," she winced his arm was bleeding a bit already, plus a chunk of wicker was lodged right in his skin, gruesome. "Here let me just…"

"No, don't touch it, don't touch me there," Morph grasped his bleeding arm away, as he quickly scrambled up in an effort to not be in worse pain by her pulling it out.

"It will only hurt for a second."

"No! I said no! Forget it, it's gonna hurt if you do that!"

"Oh, it won't hurt that bad."

"Yes, it will."

"Come here you big baby, it won't hurt that bad."

"Get away from me," in an effort to defuse it, he shapeshifted a big cloth diaper on himself, and a bonnet on his head, complete with booties on his feet, in a cute blue shirt, and holding a stuffed toy chameleon. (It's based more or less on a picture I saw of baby Morph in a diaper on DeviantArt, you can just search for it 'X-Men Morph baby diaper', should come right up.) "It's gonna hurt really bad, don't you dare."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, oh really now, well, keep that up, Morph, because if you are really that scared, then I'll just have to get the Baby Powder and change you too, right after I kiss it all better."

Morph sputtered and giggled, "You're gonna kiss me?"

"Yeah, to make you feel all better."

"Oh, really, so, you're gonna give me a little kiss, are ya?"

"Yeah, a little kiss right on your boo-boo, to make you feel all better after we get that out, and cleaned up, and a Band-Aid on you. Yes, I'll kiss it all better for you."

"You're gonna really kiss my boo-boo all better?"

"Sure," she agreed, and Morph removed the baby getup he had on and smiled broadly.

"Okay, but I think rather you kiss me somewhere else...like on my…." Well, at least he had stopped it right there before he said it. However, he realized too late, what he had already said. Not to mention the said implications of that, and or what it might imply, as it was obvious what he was going to say next.

"What did you just say?" She didn't know if he meant that, or if he just said it to be funny, or stupid, or goofy, or whatever. "You uh, um…"

Smiling with a chuckle smirk. "Could you please go get my, minty mouthwash? I'm gonna need it now. It's right over there," thumb pointing to the desk in his room, it had a few toiletries on it.

"This?" It was the only thing that looked like a bottle of mouthwash. So he was really gonna do this now? Okay, not the worst thing in the world, she did like him. So if she was going to have to kiss someone, it might as well be with someone she really liked. Well, at least she really liked him, the shapeshifting funny guy, that she would consider a kiss with him. But her very first kiss, well…it was just not how she had envisioned how her first kiss would go, at all. She had wanted it to be with her true love, that special guy. Though she did really care for Morph, problem was, he was so much older than she was. She also knew that she could say, no, to him, and if need be, slap him. Still, if you are, going to kiss someone, why not do it, with fresh minty breath. On one hand, she did sort of want to do it, but at the same time not. "Oh man, this is so not how I…I mean if we are gonna, I think I might…." She turned the bottle around to see what kind it was, before she used it, curious to see what brand it was, as the back label was facing her when she grabbed it and held it to take it to him. Any worries or concerns she had whether Morph would kiss her or not, had now vanished, as she already had her answer right there as she looked at the label. It was a big picture of a big foot with wavy green stink lines wafting up from it, and a big wide-open mouth, with what looked like the stinky foot about to go inside it. Jubilee nearly giggled as she read out loud the label. "Uh? 'Extra Strength Minty Foot-In-Mouth-Wash. For those times when you really stick it in there.' Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, oh my…" Morph just nodded as he laughed as well. "'Extra strength formula, for when your breath smells and tastes just like your foot after a long hard Danger Room session.' Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, who; did you make this, Morph, or did someone get this for you as a gag?" Jubilee continues to laugh and realized it…he probably wasn't going to kiss her. Morph had just said something stupid to her. After all, Morph is a Sagittarius and Sagittarius's are known to be the big flirts of the zodiac, usually the shameless ones. Brat. Though she certainly didn't mind the attention one bit, but he had crossed a line a little bit with her, but at least he knew that. Maybe he was just joking around, or said it to be funny, or it sort of slipped out, meaning he rather get kissed on the lips/mouth, rather than like a kid, on his boo-boo, only to realize almost too late what he almost said, to a teenager nonetheless, that that was not appropriate. So she could and would easily accept any sort of apology or excuse he had, even this, a big bottle of mouthwash.

"Beast, after hearing me say stuff like that he gave it to me as a birthday gag present, it was my first year as an X-Man, and he thought if nothing else, I really needed that for my birthday. He made the label too, thought I would get a good laugh out of it, and figured it might be useful to me because I'm always doing that. He was hoping that it might help me learn some tact, as well, if I used it, every time I say something dumb like that."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, so did it help?"

"Oh yeah, I love that gift, I use it all the time. Whenever I say stuff like that I go use it, it helps me out, to learn better for next time. Kinda like a spanking, only in my mouth and on my tongue."

"So you…"

"Oh yeah, I say stupid stuff like that all the time, I just say it cause I say it, mostly to be funny. If you know me at all, I'll try to turn anything into a joke, even that. So sometimes stuff like that comes out of my mouth before I've realized what I just said, like now. Sometimes my mouth runs off before my head catches up. So, yeah, hee, hee, hee, hee, me kissing you, yeah, well, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, it's certainly not the worst thing in the world right? But I know what I said, and it wasn't appropriate, so I'm really sorry, Jubilee."

"Apology accepted, Morph. But some birthday present, though, huh. Getting you mouthwash."

"Are you kidding me, I loved it. I couldn't stop laughing after I undraped it and looked at what he made me. That was exactly what I needed. And if you ever run out, and you are still running your mouth off, without thinking, first, there's more where that came from in the Med Lab. Plus he also got me that cool Tiki Mask up there, I love that thing, it gives me nightmares."

"You should get rid of it then; that creepy thing would probably give me nightmares too. Or at least on a stormy night."

"I was just joking, but you're right it has freaked me out a time or two during a thunderstorm," he says as he takes a mouthful of mouthwash, pouring it in the cap before he uses it.

"So…speaking of joking, you really…"

Morph nods rinsing out his mouth, talking with a mouthful of his special mouthwash in his big mouth, "Yeah, I can't believe I said that. Sometimes I'm too silly for my own good. Scuse me a sec," he walks off to the bathroom across the hall to go gargle and spit it out after he and finishes rinsing out his big mouth, as Jubilee follows him in with the bottle. "There, that's much better. Me and my big mouth, I can't believe I said that to you. I mean, where's the romance in that huh? I mean if _we're_ , ever gonna do that, smooch, it's gotta be done right, right? You know. Not a spur of the moment thing. It's gotta be done right, you know, to make it really memorable. Gotta set the mood. With a few lit candles, a fire burning in the fireplace, a little soft romantic romance music playing in the background, and some rose petals scattered on the bed…our first…"

Before she had to be subjected to more of his possible sexual little fantasy, she giggled a bit. She could now see why Beast thought this was a good gift for Morph. In truth it really was. "Umm, ha, ha, ha, Morph," holding up the bottle and swirl shaking it.

Rolling his eyes at what he just said, again, "Give me another hit, of that, I guess I still haven't quite learned…"

Jubilee laughs as she watches him in the bathroom as Morph rinses his mouth out once more. Despite the fact he wasn't blushing he did look embarrassed about it. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, okay, now that we got that taken care of, let me take care of this for you."

"No. It's gonna hurt if you pull it out."

"Well, it's gotta come out. It will only hurt for a sec, ooh that looks so bad, though."

"You're really making me feel a lot better you know. I can get it out myself." He took the cup that's left in the bathroom for teeth brushing getting a drink or whatnot, and filled it up with cold water and rinsed his upper arm off a bit to get most of the blood off before he looked in the medicine cabinet for a Band-Aid and some antiseptic ointment and spray.

"Oooh that is bleeding pretty badly and you still have to get it out."

"Yeah well, that's the easy part, and cleaning myself up, but putting that on up there might not be, so you can do that for me, put the Band-Aid on for me if you like." Rinsing his arm off once more he shapeshifted the splinter chunk of wicker out of his upper arm and reverts it, there was still a big open bleeding gash though, but at least it was all out now. Obviously, it only pained him slightly as he made a slightly pained face, kinda like getting a needle poke in the arm, as he used his shapeshifting powers to easily pop it out.

"That's cheating."

"Better than you pulling it out and causing me more undue pain."

"Here then, I would be happy to clean that out, without causing you any undue pain, it's what I'm good at. You're a good clotter I see."

"It also comes with my powers; I have pseudo healing, in this case, I can use it to close up the wound and speed up the clotting and natural healing process."

"Oh, that's cool." She rinsed it off once more to get the half-dried blood off his arm and then sprayed the wound and dried it off around the gash with some rubbing alcohol as it would dry off fast, and put some ointment on it and put on a Band-Aid, and yes kissed his boo-boo better. "Better now?"

"A lot better thanks. You really are good at that." He hugs her and reverts his jacket back on.

"So we are still taking off to the mall, right?"

"Oh yeah," gesturing with his hands, "you bet, let's go. Uh…right after I uh, you know," head gesturing to the toilet, "before we leave. Too bad I don't have to do caca with it. Oh well, maybe later I might need to. Meet me in my room; I'll be there in just a minute or two after I pee."

"Sure." She waited for just about 2 minutes like he said he would be. "Feel better?" Morph nodded. "Good thing you remembered to do that before you left, just in case we get stuck in traffic."

"Yeah, mama always told me to go pee, or use the toilet before leaving the house, especially if you're going on a car trip."

"So, still going out the balcony?"

"Of course we are. It's a cabaret after all, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind, it's a song lyric, to one of my new favorite songs."

"Uh…okay, so how does it go?"

Half singing it, "It's a cabaret, taking over on a quiet lazy backseat day. And it's so beautiful, like the sunshine on your balcony just yesterday. Taking off together on the balcony it reminded me of that song, don't ask me why."

"Uh, okay, I won't." The last thing she wanted or they needed was an excuse for Morph's big mouth to start to go off again, and for her to have to wait for him to wash his mouth out with his special mouthwash, again.


	7. Getting To Know Each Other Better

**_Getting To Know Each Other Better_**

"Last chance to chicken out if you aren't up to sneaking out the dangerous way with me."

"You mean off the balcony?"

"Yup, we're flying out of here."

"I'm all for it. So did you make this?"

"Yup, did it all myself, so I can stargaze out here or just look up at the stars, and fly off the roof. Or jump and fly off of it, like we're gonna do if you're not too scared." He helped her out and then held her tightly in his arms after they climbed out the window onto the mini balcony he made. Closing the window after they were out, he told her, "Hold on to me now, and whatever you do, don't let go." She looked at him, then down, then back at him, and smiled, and hugged him tighter in her grip before they leaped down. Morph transformed mid-air, to Angel, and flew off. "Whoo, fun, huh?"

"Whoo, yeah, what a," shooting off her fireworks, "blast!"

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, oh what a funny girl you are."

"And you're a funny guy. By the way, we **so** gotta do that again, that was so much fun."

"I know; I love doing that, jumping off that and the hanger bay hatch too. Wait, you really liked that? You weren't scared?"

"No, way, maybe a little bit, but that was what was so fun about it, I loved it. Plus, I got the excuse to hug you tighter."

He was so surprised and happy to hear of a girl who was actually into that sort of extreme stuff, like jumping. He looked into her hazel eyes that appeared blue and smiled, there was, wow, a girl after his own heart, in there, and hugged her tighter right back. "Wow really?"

"Of course, roller-coasters are the best."

"My kind of girl. So if you don't mind, I rather not fly all the way there." However, he soon regretted that decision. It would have been a whole lot faster flying there, as is, even if he happened to get tired along the way due to the jet-lag, he worried might hit him. But it all worked out in the end. They had decided to take Morph's car, since he had wanted to go for a little drive and make sure that she was still up and running well and smoothly, and get her all gassed up and things checked out a bit before needing to use it to go home to see his parents at some point in time. Also if the fatigue due to the jet-lag did hit him, then Jubilee could take over driving for him.

As they had good reason to now, they caught up a bit more, as it was a good opportunity to do so. As Jubilee pumped the gas and Morph checked out the other things in his car as their first stop was a local gas station. There it was mostly small talk. What was the weather mostly like at Muir Island, is it different than New York? What did you like to do to spend your free time there? Maybe I should make a list. Now, what do I need to buy or get for the camping trip I'm taking? This, of course, had led right into more talking about the girl's retreat and her foster mom, to make Morph more jealous that he couldn't go. It wasn't too far to get to the mall, as the local mall wasn't that far out of the way, even if Morph took a long deter aka the scenic route, to give his car a good test run. However as they headed back on the main route to the mall they soon found themselves at a bit of a standstill on the road, and not making much progress.

"Boy, I am I ever glad that we both went to the bathroom before we left, huh, I know I sure am glad I emptied out," Morph announced tapping his finger on the steering wheel, after being stuck in traffic at a standstill for nearly 15 minutes trying to just get there, let alone to shop. After less than 5 minutes, Morph shut off his car until there was some movement up ahead. "I tell ya, I'd sure hate to be stuck in this when I really need to go. I feel bad for anyone who does need the bathroom, especially little kids."

"Yeah no kidding, and it's not even rush-hour yet."

"Uh-hmm." He leaned his arm on the window and shut his eyes for a little bit, they weren't moving anyhow at the moment. Besides, if they did start to move he would be honked at or Jubilee would let him know if he did nod off.

"If you're tired I can switch out with you and you can sleep while I drive if you're still jet-lagged. It's really dangerous to drive while you're sleepy."

"I know, that's why I wanted to drive to the mall, in case that did happen, but I'm not sleepy, so much as I'm just bored. Talk to me, some more, aside from the camping trip I can't come on. What do you want to do?"

"Like…?"

"Life goals, ambitions, dreams? That sort of stuff. What do you want to do with your life? Do you want to be an X-Man all your life? Anything you want to talk about like that, I'm all ears."

"It would be nice to learn math, try to at least reasonably get over my math problems. But I've never found a teacher that could teach me it or had the patience to bother to help me out with it. They all didn't seem to care about me enough to try to teach me it. So I only know very basic math."

"Oh man that sucks, and it shameful on the teacher's part not to try to help you out or have the patience to try to help you out. But at the same time, I mean no offense, when I say; they probably just thought you were a lost cause. If they diagnosed you with dyscalculia, that's probably why they didn't bother with it. If you can't learn math, there's really no point in teaching it to you. The truth is; you don't need to know complicated math if you can do basic math, that's fine, and it's all you really need. You only need the advanced stuff if you're gonna be an architect or some other career that involves advanced math skills. Besides, if it is really that bad, there are calculators and other ways around it. But if you want to learn it, maybe, I can try to help you. I can't promise you, but I can try, math was one of my best subjects, and I'm a patient and creative person, so I might figure you out on how best to teach you. So what else about you, interested in marriage yet?"

"Duh, yeah, ASAP."

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, me too, soon as I can too."

" _You_ ; want to get married, come on," Jubilee said disbelievingly.

"Come on what, what you don't believe me when I say that I want to get married."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, well no, no I don't. I mean come on, you, of all people; want to get married, no, not really. It's about as believable as Gambit wanting to get married."

"Why not, why don't you believe that or me saying I want to get married? And Gambit would so get married to Rogue if Rogue would let him in, but she's too afraid of her powers. Not only that the lack of physical intimacy is a big roadblock. Worse than that is, I'm afraid until Rogue can get a grasp on learning how to control her powers, which I believe she will one day, soon, she won't be willing to let him in, to want to get married, because she's too afraid, to hurt him. But we both know that. Sigh, as much as she won't like to admit it, she cares very deeply for her Cajun, but Rogue won't hurt him. Be it physically, or in her case, a lack of intimacy, as far as not being able to touch him. But she is hungry for the man; I think we all see it. So why don't you believe me when I say I do want to get married, soon?"

"Let's see, could it be because you're a big lovable goofball, who I'm told doesn't take anything too seriously in life."

"So what, it doesn't make me immature or anything. Just because I act that way, doesn't mean I'm that way all the time. I'm just a playful person; I've always been that way. Just because I'm a big lovable goofball, as you put it, it doesn't mean that I don't have a serious side to me. Besides life is too serious as it is, most of the time, any other time is fair game for me."

"Well aside from that the other main reason is; you're a Sagittarius."

"So what."

"So what, it's your star sign."

"So what about it, I could be gobbledygook for all I care about what my star sign is. I got the itch to get hitched, and that's all there is to it," he giggles.

"Well keep it in your pants, Morph."

He smiles and giggles, "I have been. Down boy; or I'll shoot you!"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, you sure got an interesting perceptive about things, Morph, that's what I really like about you."

"So I've been told, by a few people. A lot of those people think I'm a head case, and I almost proved them right. Oh well, maybe next time," he snickers.

"I can't believe you can even joke about that, after what you've been through and…"

"Well, I just did. It proves I'm well, and well over that trauma and drama in my life besides as I said life is just too short to be serious all the time. With it, that's also, why, I want to get hitched; I want to have a family, so bad. Besides, my folks, after finding out I was still alive, have been writing to me, and suggesting, after I get all better, that I do find a good woman and settle down, after getting a more normal safer job and have some kids and make them grandparents. I can't disagree now, aside from getting me a safer normal job, well, unless it's an acting one. But as for the other, well I hadn't wanted or desired any of that, not until I nearly lost my life. Now I've got a much better perspective on life, maybe a bit more normal one. Course it's getting around to that time in my life, anyhow, of where I should start to be thinking more about that. So how come you want to get hitched?" Sighing Morph turned over his car, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, just hold your horses, it's not as if we're moving all that fast anyhow, sheesh."

"I'm surprised that idiot behind you doesn't try to cut you off."

"He can try if he wants, but he'll learn the hard way. Shit, ugh, like this idiot!" Morph shot his arm out to protect Jubilee as he veered his car out of the way to safety, and slammed on his brakes, as the idiot had cut him off! It wasn't the car right behind him that Morph had to worry about, nope; heck it wasn't even that one that honked at him, to get moving along. No, it was the jerk right behind that one, being far too impatient in waiting for his turn to move forward with his idling car, had foolishly tried to jump ahead in line two cars and paid for it! "Looking for an accident, I'd say, you dumb fool! Oh, hee, hee, hee, hee, and here comes karma on you. I knew it. Ghost car a few cars back." Sure enough, the cop's siren blares off and as the cars moved away to make room, as the ghost car advances through and the cop inside signals for the fool to pull over to the side. "Oooh a lady cop, uh-ooh, and she looks pissed right off too; uh-ooh, ohh you're in trouble now. Ohh, it's gotta be that time of the month too, I'll bet."

"Did you really have to go there and say that?"

"Yes, yes I did; because he deserves it, and I hope she's extra moody today and lets him really have it. I hope she really lays into him for doing that." As out of line that might have been, just a tad, Jubilee was smiling and giggling, especially as Morph had driven by and opened the window to shout out of it as they went by. "Don't go easy on the boy now; he's _big enough_ , to know better!"

"Wow, he's a fatty."

"Yes, yes he is, and fatty is gonna get it now, a big ticket, for being too impatient just to get to his beloved Dunken' Doughnuts." And yes, Morph wasn't being mean, so much as bluntly joking, as there was one up the road not too far ahead. "Either that or he was very desperate to get to the nearest available toilet at the Dunken' Doughnuts. Too bad if that's the problem, now he'll really be waiting for it and might be the one having the accident for trying to cause one, by trying to cut me off, if that's the case." The mutants giggle and laugh and Morph asked her again. "So why do you feel the need to get married?"

"I don't know if it will make sense, but being an orphan, all I wanted most in the world, was to have a family."

"Makes perfect sense to me, and probably have lots of kids too."

"Yeah that too, or adopt them."

"Yeah I know what you mean, and coming from your background being one yourself, it makes perfect sense to me, that you would be inclined more to adopt, as well as have your own. I know it's hard for you to believe being the way that I am, but I really do want to get married pretty soon too and have a few kids too, but I have to find the right girl, the right woman for me."

"That's odd to hear since I heard that Sagittarius's are the bachelors and bachelorettes of the zodiac. Is that true or at least not for you maybe?"

"It's true for most Sagittarius's, yes, and I have known a few fellow Sagittarians, and they had no interest in a long-term relationship. Dating and having a fun time with someone, was all they were interested in, not a commitment. The thing is, they just don't want to lose their freedom, that's what they want is their freedom, and they fear they will lose it if they do get into a relationship with someone, of course, that usually means marriage. So some Sagittarius's really do have a hard time with the idea of marriage and that commitment. They rather just live alone and do their own thing."

"Oh I get it; I feel the same way too at times, so I wonder if we can keep it together. You were right though about that, that I like to be left alone at times, to do my own thing, especially if I'm angry. I don't want to say or do something stupid to make the situation worse. I'd rather walk away before I do or say something stupid if I can, or get away from everyone. I also don't always like to be told what to do, either, at times, or when I have to do it. It gets me a lot of the time, usually the way they say it; like I'm someone super special, so, you have to listen to me, or else, do this, because I'm this special person, and I expect it. I don't go for that, at all especially if it's for someone I don't respect, or I've lost respect for. If I respect the person, it's the person, not the title. The title forget it, I don't care if they are a rocket scientist, if they are a bad person, then they sure don't deserve it, but if they are a good person, and worthy then yes, then I have no problems at all with listening to them or even taking orders from them. But lose that respect with me, and I'll probably turn a deaf ear with whomever until they earn it back with me."

"You're preaching to the choir here. I'm the same way too. It's going to be that way with me and Scott for a while. On a mission might be different, but at any other time when we're not on one, I'll probably ignore him and what he has to say. As for a Sagittarius getting hitched, if they do find the right one then yes they are willing, to commit, or they will stay with that person for life, as if they were married, like common-law marriage, but without getting the paper. Most of them if they do actually get married it will be most likely be later on in life, rather than early. But you never know there are always acceptations to the rules. It's like catching a fish with a Sagittarius you can very easily hook them, but reeling them in is very hard, they will fight to get free or break free, but you can land them too. Right now if I do find my right girl, and I knew for sure, she was the right one for me, I would do it. It might take some time, as I'd like to date her first, you know, explore that side of a relationship, but I would eventually marry her. The thing is for most Sagittarius's is the thought, hey, I got a great partner here, but what if a few months on down the road, what if the flames die down, too much, or what if there's nothing left to explore about my partner, what then? Well, then I'm stuck, where I don't want to be, in a relationship, that I don't want to be in anymore. That's what freaks out a lot of Sagittarius's right out, is the restriction, namely marriage. Or worse if they get tricked into marriage, and find out it's a sham, maybe to get money or something like that, oooh look out trouble ahead."

"Pretending you're pregnant or knocked up just to get him?"

"Oh yeah, then say after you do get married you lost the baby had a miscarriage. Then head to the doctor to find out what happened, only to find out it was all a lie to try to get the guy to marry you to do the decent thing. That's not going to happen with me, no way. Can't happen with me."

"What, why not, you shooting blanks?"

Almost laughing, "No, I just won't have sex, to worry about, _that_ , happening to me."

"Oh yeah, good idea. Got any sage Sagittarius advice for me?"

"Never lie, ever, don't ever lie ever to a Sagittarius ever, be upfront with them all the time. You can have your private things, but always tell them the truth no matter how bad it is. The value honesty above all else. So they rather hear the truth, no matter how ugly or checkered your past is. They rather hear you've killed someone and deal with it, then the lies and cover-ups when the truth comes out, 8 months down the road, when the police come knocking down your door to arrest you. Or say you've dated 20 other people and had sex with 5 of them before I met you. I might want to get you tested, but yeah, I rather hear that; then find out the hard way, you know. Being lied to is something a Sagittarius will not, or has a very hard time, forgiving. They value honesty and integrity above all else in any sort of relationship, especially marriage, so if you don't have that, pptt, you're tough out of luck."

"Good advice for any relationship really, and I'm a very honest person. You looking to find her, or still just dreaming of her?"

"Both, hee, hee, oh I do try, but they've all shot me down and the dates that I do get end quickly I haven't had much luck with the dating thing, but in the meantime, I daydream about what it would be like. The thing is my secondary sign; it balances me out that I'm more willing to want to get married. So I'm very willing to sacrifice a little bit of my need for freedom for the sake of love, just as long as it is true love, and I do know it. I have to know she's the right girl for me, and she understands me, she can put up with me, my bluntness, and my lack of tact at times. There have to be no surprises, tricks, I want all the cards laid out on the table ahead of time, so I know what I'm getting to, before I get into it, at least as far as the marriage part goes, or I'll probably leave the marriage high and dry. If she can't be upfront with me, and herself, then what hope does the marriage have?"

"Not much if at all."

"Exactly. The best piece of advice to make any marriage work is to just be honest with your partner right up front, especially while you're just dating the person. If you can't deal with it, in the dating stage, at least you can get out of it before it is too late to do so. You gotta be honest, even with just small things, because they can lead to big things later on, especially for a Sagittarius. You know like say for instance certain foods you like or you don't like. Like say Brussel sprouts, maybe you hate them but the other person loves them. So as to not offend them, you lie and say oh, I love them too. Then you know what happens, you're stuck eating a nasty stinky vegetable that you can't stand eating because your beloved makes them for you, thinking that you love them. For me in my case it's carrots, I love them and I hate them. I love them raw, I'll eat them raw, especially with dip, and I'll have them in soups or stir-fry, but try to feed them to me once they are boiled, and no go, yuck. I might try a little taste if it's something new or made a different way, but just boiled, forget it. To me it's too soft and doesn't taste like a carrot to me anymore, it's gross."

"That's me too. Jean even quipped about it when I told her I can't stand cooked carrots. Oh, it looks like we got another Morph here; we got another cooked carrot hater. Then you're also dumping the water out that has the flavor of the carrots in it and the vitamins along with it."

"Exactly I was just going to say that."

"So, uh, I take it you've never done it yet, you know uh…?"

"No, hee, hee, hee, no, not yet, hee, hee, but a guy can dream can't he?"

"Wow, really, I thought with you being a Sagittarius you would be pretty, active; if you know what I mean. I looked into it at one time, and sex is supposed to be a big thing with Sagittarius's."

"Not for me right now, it isn't. Wait, how you exactly did find this information out and why?"

"The Internet of course, and I wanted to find out who I would be most compatible with, as far as my star sign goes. I thought no harm no foul, just curious in trying to figure out who is compatible with me as far as star signs goes when I realized that I would find my right guy. Still, a Sagittarius is a star sign I'm supposedly compatible with, and or will easily get along with, as far as friendship, which probably explains us, and how we hit off so fast." Morph made and an agreeing sound and nodded. "While I was at it I also looked into their traits and what each star sign is like, personality wise, that's why I didn't believe you at first that you would really want to get married, and your funny personality. But I also read sex is a big thing with Sagittarius's. It's like a big adventure for them and a big thing for them. What do you think, think it's true or has some truth in it or not?"

"Well, yeah, I think so; I'm very sure for other or for most Sagittarius's that is quite true. Sex would be a very big thing and most would gladly hop into the sack on the first date and be off and gone in the morning looking for the next big adventure with someone else the very next day. That's not me, and that's not real love, not to me, that's just sex. If I'm going to lose my innocence I'll be doing it with the one I love and I'm married to."

"Really, wow, good for you, Morph, I'm proud of you for saying that. I had just figured you had already done that at least once already especially at your age; I mean you're what, 4 times my age."

Morph shot her a look. "Do I look _that_ old to you, do I look 80?!"

"Sorry, the dyscalculia, like I said, I'm bad when it comes to numbers and even age. So uh, you are maybe 3 times my age?"

"Keep subtracting."

"Uh, 2 and a half?"

"Hmmm."

"Okay, 2 times my age."

"Try two years, maybe 3 years difference, give or take."

"Liar! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, you wish, and me, that would be a dream come true if you really were only a couple years older than I am. At least then, I wouldn't feel like the odd one out. Well at least in your personality you sure are a teen. Okay, I think I can do this, 17, plus 17, is uh…ohh…"

"Make it easy on yourself, 20, plus 20, is, then subtract 6, is?"

"Uh, oh 2 plus 2 is 4 oh, 40, so…," using her fingers to count, "uh, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, so 34 or somewhere around there. Hey, that was easier to do it that way than adding it from 17. Hey, you're a good teacher, Morph."

"Hey, as I said, maybe I can help you with the math."

"So you're like 34 and you still haven't had sex yet? Wow, I don't know if that's admirable or embarrassing, at your age. I mean at a certain age you would think…at least once. So you have never ever…. I guess I can't ask you if it hurts a guy when he has his first time. I've heard for a girl for sure it hurts their first time or for the first few times, for sure. So I wondered about that for guys if it was the same if it hurt them too."

"Oddly no, see the way I was brought up, was the good old-fashioned no sex until marriage, so no I believe it is a sin to do that before marriage. So I'm saving myself up for my special lady, and I want her to be a virgin and hasn't had her first kiss either if it's possible, I mean it's okay if she has had her first kiss, but the sex thing, I want her to be a virgin. As for the other, well, I couldn't tell you, I wouldn't think so, but it might, since it's a different sensation, a guy might not be used to, is the best I can answer that one. But please tell me you haven't done that, had sex yet."

"Oh hell no! God no, after what I've seen some girls do in the orphanage, no, no way. Never. I was just curious, I mean there are only a certain few questions you could only safely ask Jean or Scott and even Beast before you do get a reaction, more questions, back, or very red faces. You, well I had figured, that would be very different; you probably wouldn't care so much, and can just be very upfront about it with me, and just tell me, what I wanted to know."

"That's true, if I had, I would gladly tell you, but I have no idea myself. So you have never…"

"No. I mean I might at some point in time if I don't find him, but like you, I'm also saving it up for marriage. I've seen so many girls younger than 14 and gotten pregnant and worse," tearing over, "killing their babies. How could they do that, Morph, it's so sick and satanic."

"I know, murder in the highest degree, when you abort your baby like that. Huh, any doctor who does that should be drug out into the street, beaten severely, tortured, and then shot, several times, and left for dead, to let the birds and dogs eat the carcass. I don't know how anyone could live with that; how any woman could also live their life, after that, with that knowledge, and the guilt of killing off their child like that. I mean, if you really don't want it, or the responsibility, don't have sex, it's as simple as that. And if you do go and get pregnant, for whatever reason, even rape, God forbid, for the love of God, just give it up for adoption; don't murder it, even in the case of rape. I mean, if that does happen, yes, I can understand not wanting anything to do with it, in the case of rape, but at least do the decent thing, and just give it up for adoption. I believe the only time it would be permissible to kill an unborn baby is if it is going to kill the mother, and even then, I would pray about it."

"I know, I uh, know all too well about that. See, one roommate of mine, she did that, she got pregnant by a guy she thought she loved, or who loved her, he just wanted sex. So when she found out she was pregnant, he had left her, and worse, she found out, he was cheating on her, the whole time, with 3 other girls. So she didn't want to keep the baby, and she got an abortion. Worst of all, she was younger than me. After she had got it done, she was just bawling and screaming, the first 3 or more nights after she went to the clinic to have the abortion. God, it was so horrible."

"Oh, God. Jubilee, get off this subject please, now. I don't even want to think of that. Please. Was she badly hurt because of the abortion operation, is that why she was screaming and crying?"

"Maybe, but I think it was more like guilt and her own personal hell she was going through."

"I'll bet. Change the subject now, please. You gotta have something more pleasant to talk about." Morph thought about what they were talking about earlier. "Anything else you want to do with your life, any other hopes dreams, stuff like that?"

"Yeah you know what I would really like to do, is to learn another language, like fluently. If it's not too hard for me to learn it. Besides, I know it will come in handy, really handy."

"Cool, what one?!"

"Umm, I don't know, yet, ha, ha, ha, it's sort of silly, in a way, but also romantic, why I want to learn it too."

"I'm all about silly, and I'm a hopeless romantic as well, so let's hear it. Why do you want to learn another language?"


	8. Jubilee's Dream, Husband

**_Jubilee's Dream, Husband_**

"See I had a dream, a really beautiful wonderful dream, so vivid, it's really, ha, ha, ha, um, oh. As corny as it sounds, I had a dream, and that dream was about, my husband, my future husband, who I will end up marrying, hopefully, one day very soon. That's also, why I'm itching to get hitched as you put it. It's also because of that dream, why I want to learn a new language."

He could tell right away that this was a hot subject, for her, for more than one reason. Albeit he was a bit excited and disappointed at the same time, to hear it. "Oooh, now we were talking! So you know who your Mr. Right is?"

"Sort of, I guess, I think I'll know him; know it's him; when I meet him."

"Love at first sight?"

"Maybe, but probably not, but I will know him probably by his name." Though as she thought about it, maybe she already had that experience once, as she slowly smiled and eye glanced at Morph. 'My fellow Americans…'

"So you know his name? So how did you get a marriage dream, eating stale pepperoni pizza at 9 at night before bed?"

"No, I prayed for it. I don't know if you really believe in God."

"Born-again believer! You better believe I believe in the Lord! Especially more so after a trip to see Heaven as well."

"Okay, then, then it won't be too odd, then. See, Kurt Nightcrawler, you remember how…"

"Oh right, he's Mystique's son, yeah, I know, you wrote to me and told me all about him, yeah I know. Maybe I'll get to meet him soon, go on."

"See he helped me to see the Light or believe in the family of God, so I got saved. I had felt something when Kurt talked to me about God, this wonderful intense warmth; I really liked it a lot. So I figured it wouldn't hurt, to see if God is real; and if He is, great, but if He isn't, well, then it's no big deal right, whatever. So I tried praying and said hey, God, if You are real, well, You got prove it to me, somehow, if You are. Didn't think at first much about it, what might happen, or how God would show up to prove Himself real to me, but He did. Soon after I had said it, I felt that exact same warmth of I guess, Love, or like a big hug, I guess came over me. That's how I knew, I just knew that I knew, that I knew," Morph nodded totally getting it.

"Hee, hee, God knows each and every one of us, personally, so He knew exactly what to do to get you to believe in Him, and a hug, from Him, was all it took."

"That's right, all it took, was a hug from God, and I just knew it, that's how I knew God is real. So I decided; God You can save me now. I guess that's how it works right? So if You'll have me, You can make me Yours, a part of Your Family. I don't get it how it works, but You do, so do it, save me, I trust You, and I want You. Then I looked online to see how it was done, make sure I got it right. I told Him how sorry I was for all of the bad wrong things I had done in my life, and got salvation. Anyhow, when I did that to get saved I also prayed, God; You know everything is Yours now, too, me, all of my hopes, dreams, all my ambitions, and my special guy. I knew then that if I were to get married one day, that a husband would be a very big part of my life, so God has to be fully involved in it all, and He had to give me the right one, for me, so we would get and be married forever. So I had decided to make a big list of what my guy must be like, likes, dislikes, that sort of thing. I wanted to make sure whoever he was, that we would be completely compatible, we would complete each other, where I was lacking he would help me, and the other way around. That we would be in love with each other, and care for each other and know it, not just like and love each other over the way we look but also our personalities because looks do fade. I've been guilty of going for a pretty face."

Morph agreed with a nod over that, Bobby, and Longshot, and how many others, he wondered. But hey, he was just as guilty as she was in a similar way. He had crushes too and had gone on dates that came to nothing. So he pretty much gave up, or rather he had surrendered it all to God, to handle that, dating and finding the right girl for him. Though in the past if he were ever asked, on a date, he wouldn't ever turn one down, because, hey, you never know, she just might be the one. But as of late, he had lost all interest in dating especially because of a rebuke from God. Unless he could be true to himself, and be honest in whom he really is, and looks like, well, the dates would end up all the same, as all the others. All done and over with before it really even started. Because honestly, when it all came down to it, he was being dishonest, when he didn't look the way he really is, using his powers to hide the truth. Even if it was to try to protect himself, he still should be himself. Worse of all he values honesty in a person, so he should value it highly in himself as well, to be the example. Someone had just recently reminded him of that. 'You shouldn't do that, I like tall guys.' Morph knew he really had to stop pretending to be someone that he wasn't. Otherwise, he would only get his heart hurt worse the next time, especially when the truth came out, as it always does. He had already taken that to heart and slowly changed back to the real him, going to his real hair color and real darker skin color. But it was still not enough unless he really was the real him. "Hey, teenage crushes, pretty normal, still trying to sort out your feelings. But it sounds like you do have your priorities straight, after you got saved, on what's more important."

"Yes I do now, I've grown a lot, and I have changed a lot after being saved born-again, for sure. So when I finished my big list, I prayed that I would be totally in love with him. That he would be my best friend, my confidante, and my soulmate. So when I was sure that I got everything I needed on my list, I prayed over it and prayed to God, to go find him for me. Bring him to me. Or better yet, take me to him, to meet him. Even if I have to go halfway across the world to meet him that would be fine with me, in fact, that would be great. Just as long as he's everything and more, I have on my list. That's kind of, why, I'm ticked off that I don't get to go out on missions. I mean the X-Men, what better way to get out and see the world than on missions, right. It's another reason why I joined. Well, not really, at first, I didn't know. But if I had to do it all over again, now, now that I do know, well, it would have been for sure one of the big reasons why I also would have joined is to get to go to different places. But I get stuck at home being a nursemaid."

"That's why I signed up, was the travel and adventure. So you're into traveling?" Morph got a bit excited; it was one of his favorite subjects, travel.

"Totality, and adventure, I'm a bit of thrill seeker too, but Cyclops thinks I'm too much of a girly girl and too delicate to handle any, I'm not mature enough to handle it. Okay maybe I am just a little bit inexperienced, but whose fault is that for not letting me come on missions. I mean I have been on a few but not many at all, like you. It's getting to the point I want to stowaway on the X-Jet just so I can come, but someone needs to be there, at the Mansion, so I pretty much have no choice. Besides, Logan would know it if I was there in an instant, stowing away. That's why I'm so looking forward to this campout; to get away from them, and especially to be outside, and really roughing it, and getting back to nature; it's so my thing."

"You're making me **so** envious right now, again. I so want to go camping too, with you. It sounds like so much fun. Plus we could catch up and get to know each other better like I know the other X-Men. As much as we wrote to each other and called and whatnot, I still hardly know you, as well as I, would like. So I'd really like to go with you. Plus I love being outside."

"Sorry, but it's a retreat for the girls. If it weren't, then I would let you come for sure with me. I would love it, if you could come with me, really. Maybe some time, when I get back, we can do that, okay, camp up there for a day or two, and I can show you around and we can take a hike, and can do all that and catch up some more. But this one, no way, it is just for the ladies. We're also going to get to know ourselves a bit better there as well. Some stuff just for girls. That's what the director said; she would be teaching us girls a thing or two not only about survival skills but also some things every girl needs to learn how to do."

"Like what? Do I want to know what that might be?"

"I'm not sure; it's a surprise she said. Hey, maybe they'll teach us how to stand and take a leak like a guy. A little bit of equality training."

"Ohh come on! Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, good idea, and that would be very useful to learn. If they can teach you how to do that, learn it! But I don't think, or how they… if it is possible….nah."

"It is; I mean they do have urine directors for the ladies that enable them to pee standing up like a guy. In fact, I made one for myself to use."

"What? Out of what?"

"Cheap dollar store funnels, and rubber band hose thing, you can get cheap, at just about any hardware store. I've used it and it works quite well. I usually try to remember to take it with me on missions, because you never know, you could be in a pinch and need to go, and there's no place to go, but on a wall or tree…or cactus. Scared the hell out of Beast that one time when he saw me using it, or rather me standing and peeing with it, just like a guy, through the zipper in my shorts. Oh my stars and guarders, are you a hermaphrodite?! How did I not notice this on my medical examinations of you?!"

"Pfffft, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, oh I'll bet he was shocked, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! I'll bet that one took a bit to explain. Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, well, be sure to take it with you on your camping trip then. I'm sure it will be quite useful out there to have that with you, especially on a hike."

"It's already packed, Morph, I already got it packed, along with toilet paper, just in case. I also checked into it. Girls can pee like a guy, in fact, and without a urine director, like I made."

"What?! BS!"

"No, it isn't. You apparently use your fingers make a V shape and, you're supposedly able to go like a guy standing up."

"So…y-you can…"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't bother with that, to me that's kinda like, you know…no need. I'll just use my funnel, works well, for when I need it. I did have to practice with it a few times to feel confident to try it at a toilet, and outside, or when I need it in a pinch, at first."

"Where, umm…"

"In the shower, so if I made a mess or miss or I got it on myself, or it overflows, like it did with the small funnel I first tried, I can easily wash it off. But I find that the medium and large ones are my best ones to use. I practiced with them in the mornings when I needed a shower and have to go badly. No big right, since everyone does it," Morph nodded he was guilty as any other for doing that, peeing in the shower. "Hey, me and you, this winter, after it snows some, we'll go out and write our names, or codenames, in the snow," she jokingly tells him.

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, sure, I'll bring the hot chocolate, and before then, and if I feel up to it, we can pee off the hanger bay hatch."

"Okay, great sounds like a plan, we'll do that. Pee off the hanger bay, before we head out on a mission together, so we don't have an accident because we forgot to do that before we left."

"Speaking of which, I wonder if there was an accident. There was a siren way up the road a while back, maybe there was an accident. Maybe that's what the holdup is all about, I hope not, or at least that no one got seriously hurt because of it."

"Yeah me too, I hope not."

"So about your Mr. Right…and your dream, come on, don't leave me hanging here."

"Well, I really wanted to know who he was, or maybe when I might meet him, or at least know for sure, he is the one, some way of knowing, for sure, that's him, that's my guy. Kind of, like give me a little promise you know, that it will happen, one day down the road. It was also mostly because I sure didn't want to go against God, and think, this guy is the one when it turns out he's really not. I mean, as you know I've had crushes on a few guys, but nothing came out of it. I guess I go for pretty faces. Anyhow, I wanted to make sure, for sure, that I will know it is him and the other way around, that he knows, I'm the one for him. I don't want it to be yet another silly teenage crush. I've had enough of those to want the real deal, the real thing, a relationship, that will last and stand the test. It happened to me but only after I had pressed into God, is the night I had that a very wonderful beautiful wondrous dream, to answer all my prayers, and to know who my future husband will be, when I do meet him someday, hopefully soon. In my dream, it was snowing out, and I was walking up the aisle to meet him. I saw him, he was dressed all in white too, white shoes, hat, tuxedo, everything, white gloves, silk ones, I remember that, when he held my hands."

"Oooh, a real white wedding huh? Very lovely, very romantic, oh wow. I had a dream like that once too, wow. That's kinda neat we had a similar dream."

"Yeah real romantic, and there was Someone else there at the wedding too."

"Oh, who?"

"God, Jesus, He was there, ready to give me away."

"Oh, wow‼ Oh, that is so awesome‼ So He was there, you got to see Him?!"

"Yes, and oh, I was so in love with the Lord, I fell more in love with the Lord as I went down to meet him, my husband to be, and as I did, I fell more in love with Jesus, and more in love with whoever he is. But I was more in love with the Lord than I was with my husband though."

"Well that's good; it's supposed to be that way. Your first Husband is supposed to be Jesus; I'm married to the Lord too, in that sense."

"Sigh, well, now that makes sense to me. But this is where it doesn't make much sense to me, being a bit of a new baby in the Lord, and why I want to learn a new language. So maybe you might know better what it all means."

"I'll try to make sense of it if I can; unless it's supposed to be wrapped up in mystery."

"It wasn't that, I get that part, about falling deeply in love with the Lord, more, before falling deeper in love with my husband to be. I so totally get that. I mean the white wedding is so obviously symbolic of my virginity and his, that part is obvious. In fact, that was one of the top things on my list besides him also being born-again and Spirit-filled Christian; was he has to be a virgin too and that he hasn't had his first kiss yet. So we can share that together. It's what I was doing; I really don't get at all. I get almost there, right up there, I'm just a few steps away from going right up to marry him, and well; I stop."

"Cold feet?"

"No, I start talking, of all things. Just yammering on and on, but whoever he was, he patiently waited for me, to finish, whatever it was I was saying. I had stopped to talk to Jesus and maybe it was about my husband to be."

"Must have been something important then. Especially if it was mostly to Jesus in your dream. Do you remember at all what you were saying?"

"That's just the thing; I have no idea what I was saying. It was in some other language I do not know, at all. So I don't know what it was, about, or what, or why, I was doing it, let alone what I was saying. But whatever it was, I was saying, it was in some very wonderful and very beautiful foreign language, and I wasn't saying it to my husband, or not so much. I mean it had concerned him, I think because I kept looking on off at him, from time to time, but mostly I was saying it right to the Lord, and it was so intense. I don't know what language it was, but it was as if I knew it like I was speaking it just as clearly and as easily and fluently as my English. But it was so intense the feeling I got from it, it was something very different than just normal talking whatever it was that I was doing." Unlike most dreams, it was still fresh and vivid in her mind and memories. She could remember pretty much every detail about it, and that was what as so odd about it, and how she knew this wasn't just another dream. This was something extra special, and from God for sure.

"Oh I know what you were doing, you were praying in Tongues in your dream."

"Is that what I was doing?"

"Without a doubt. Did you feel it in your belly, something in your belly, while you were doing that in your dream?"

"Yeah, it was almost like eating extra hot and spicy chili fries, only better and different."

"That's certainly one way to describe it, the feeling, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee. Well, that's praying in Tongues and every truly born-again believer can do it, or rather ask for, or receive, the gift of the Holy Spirit to do that. (Morph prays off in Tongues for a few seconds, to show Jubilee he had that gift of the Holy Spirit.) Was it something like that?"

It was strange; as if he was just saying something in some other language. But she knew right away, that it wasn't that. No, it was something totally different, but yet completely similar, or exactly, what she was doing, only in her sleep. The only difference was the language that she had was different than Morph's, that she knew for sure, from what it sounded like, it sounded nothing like what Morph was saying. "Yeah; but mine was totally different sounding than yours. But it was just like that, but yet different, in some other language, I mean. So I was just praying? But that is normal, that mine it doesn't sound like yours?"

"Yup, the best prayer ever, the best way to do it, is letting the Holy Spirit pray for and with you, or to pray for someone else, is to do it through your spirit. That's a gift from the Holy Spirit, to pray in Tongues. And yes, it doesn't matter what yours sounds like, the Holy Spirit chooses what language it will be because He knows what's best for you, and other people. You could say get Japanese, and you don't know a lick of Japanese but you meet someone who does speak it. The Holy Spirit prompts you to speak to this person in your prayer language. So that person understands what you say, and he or she will probably be saved, because of what you say. Because a lot of the time you are praising and thanking God, and giving testimony about God. That's in the Book of Acts by the way, if you want to read it for yourself. Or maybe they already do believe in God, but he or she needs to hear from God, so again, the Holy Spirit prompts you, to speak to this person in your prayer language, so this is another reason for it. When you pray in that way, it edifies you and others, so that's why it's so important to use it as much as you can. So the prayers you were praying in your dream were probably all concerning your husband or what your spirit and Spirit of God was crying out for; for him, to be like, or to draw him to you I guess, and to prepare him for you, and perhaps you for him, as well, I would assume."

"Yeah, that makes total and complete sense now. Wow, you're good, that makes total sense to me now. So I guess I will know him, I just have to wait until I meet him, and then I will know it's him when I do meet him. And hopefully, he will also know too, that I'm the one for him. Now the hardest part, waiting for him."

"I know what you mean, I'm waiting too. I've had, in fact, a dream very similar to that one you had where I was praying in Tongues too, concerning my wife to be. The Lord appeared to me too in my dream and He told me about her, what she will be like. Some things about her, like her name and other things, as I was waiting for her as the Lord prepared her for me. Similar I'm sure to what you saw in your dream. That's kinda what's eerie about it, maybe it means something. So I'll know her when I meet her too and get to know her better if it is her, my wifey. There are some very specific things about her, that should let me know it is her, like you, I will know it in due time, who she is if she is the one. In fact, I think maybe I have an idea, who she might be. So you too then, right, you must know who he is then, right? So who is he?" Morph bit his lip in anticipation of the big reveal.

"No, I have no idea. I never saw his face. In fact, there was a screen on his face."

"Like a veil, like a Bride wears?"

"Sort of, but I mean an actual screen, like from a projector screen."

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, okay, if you say so, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee."

"It's not funny, Morph. It serious and so romantic. The mystery man I'm supposed to marry."

"I know, I'm just trying to imagine it, it's kinda funny, the image I got in my head of that. So hate to break it to you, but you already do know a new language fluently, Tongues."

"Well, I think that was a one-time thing."

"No, you got it, and you can do it again, even if you were doing it in a dream, you were praying in your spirit and you can do it again. Your spirit knows how to now, so you can do it again, whenever you want to, easily."

"Well, I haven't, yet, since then."

"Well that's cause you haven't tried yet or knew you could, or what it was, to try to do it again, but you can, anytime you want to."

"Anyhow, the reason why I also wanted to learn a new language is that in my dream as I finally finished talking, okay, well praying in Tongues, I finally go up to meet him. As I held his hands and he holds mine, I felt so ready, and so did he, we were just so made for each other, and we completed each other, we are so in love. I felt as if I already knew him. That we were already connected. So as we were ready to do it, take our vows, suddenly I look at him at his projector screen covered face and I tell him something, in a different language. I'm pretty sure that it's, I love you. So that's why I want to learn, that particular language, so I can say it again, to him. Tell him at the very least, I love you, I love you too, in whatever language that was."

"Awww. So, do you remember what you said? Maybe I can help you figure out what language that was. The Tongues thing I can't help you with, to tell you what language it is until I hear it if I do know that one. I do know a few. Even so, chances are you might never learn it, here, what language that is, or you could get a switch, to a different one. That happened one time with me. So do you know what you said to your dream husband?"

"Yeah, but is it hard to learn a new language?"

"Oh no, a little bit, sure, as to be expected. It depends on you, really, if you have the curiosity and want to learn it, for whatever reason, you will learn it, even if it is a bit hard at times. The secret to want to learn it is to make it as fun and as relevant to you as possible. That's what makes it so fun and easy to learn any new language. Learn what you want to learn, in the beginning, no point in learning something unimportant to you or you think you won't ever use. So say like I want to know my colors, or the weather words, learn that if that's what you want to learn. Or in your case, I love you and learn the romance words and phrases to get started. But don't try to jump into verbs or even the alphabet if you're not ready for it, or find it too difficult. If you don't know, you should figure out how you learn, and then apply it to the language you want to learn. Otherwise, it might throw you off or scare you, if you get too overwhelmed if you find it too difficult. If you're learning the wrong way or the last way, you learn, you might give up, too soon into it, if you do that. But what's really great and the best about learning a new language is the laughs along the way when you make mistakes, and say something silly, or really embarrassing, that's the best part, the face-palms, and laughs along the way. Or the accidental bad naughty words you pick up. So what language or words did you say, do you remember, anything? If I recognize the language or words, I can tell you, and what you said."

"Um, yeah it was weird. It had something to do with tea and something…umm, what's the stuff you put in your guns, called…? Ammunition. It was tea ammo. I don't think it makes much sense to say that, offer him tea and then artillery to shoot with."

Morph sputtered and laughed at hearing that, "Pfffft hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, oh my, gosh."

"Morph, come on. I know it's silly, but that's what I said. Oh, wait, oh now I remember it all, I said. Me monkey. Suppose a me. Say bell oh. Tea ammo." Morph just started laughing really loudly at that. "Oh come on, I know it's weird, but I'm sure I said it better in my dream."

Between peals of laughter and giggles, "Oh I'm sure you did! The important thing is you at least tried to say it right, even if it came out a bit wrong and funny! Good thing I went to the bathroom before I left, or I might be wetting my pants right about now," he continues to laugh loudly about it!

Now she was laughing too just like he was, "You don't even have pants on! Or at least I don't think you do for real!"

 _"Oh, sta zitto!"_

"I don't have any zits!"

Morph continued to laugh, and repeated it slowly this time, " _Oh sta zitto_ means, oh shut up."

"Oh, okay. In what language?"

"The same one you were trying not to butcher."

"Which is?"

"Italian. As I said, I know a few other languages, and that's one of them. This is also what I meant by all the laughs along the way you will have. You said or tried to say. _Mi manchi_ , which is: I miss you or I missed you. _Sposami_ , is, marry me. _Sei bello_ and you got the gender right because there is a big difference, is, you're beautiful, or rather, handsome, to a male. Now for a male like me to say it to a female like you is. _Sei bella_ , you're beautiful. There are gender specific words and differences in the Italian language. _Ti amo_ is I love you, the romantic I love you. Those are such wonderful romantic things to say to an Italian hubby, or one to be, or just to your boyfriend even."

"So, I guess that all means, one big thing, that I'm marrying an Italian, huh! Oooh, baby! I like that idea a lot! So you think my guy is an Italian, huh?"

"It sure sounds like it."

"Oh, I would love to go see Italy, Florence Italy, I hear it's really beautiful, and the culture there is just amazing."

"I'd love to take you one day. But you need to brush up on your Italian first before I'll take you there. Or at least work on the gestures. You can pretty much get by without saying a word if you do know the gestures."

"Maybe we'll have a mission there one day, and I might meet him, my Mr. Right."

"Or here, maybe you might just meet him here in New York because there are a lot of Italians here in New York you know."

"Or maybe better yet, he will come here, I mean join up with the X-Men, I mean, after what has happened, we're bound to get a few joining up. Besides, that was one of the things on my list the guy has to be a mutant, and hopefully, but doesn't have to be an X-Man, or join up. I mean I can see while we're raising some kids, while they're little that he might want a temporary normal life, away from the dangers of being an X-Man, but still be one. As dangerous as being an X-Man is, they are my family."

"Yeah, for sure, of course, I totally get that, me too. So, you never know that might just happen, your guy could be an X-Man, or become one. So how will you know, he is that guy from your dream, you said you would know his name or something?"

"Yeah, the projector screen, it was blocking his face and vailing it as you said. But I also know it was a projector screen, because it suddenly turned on, and right there on his screen face, were his 3 initials. Right below his initials was something very important and very special about his name, and his initials. It was a very specific and unique thing that will identify him to me when I do meet him, because of his name. Then to be really sure it is him; all the things I wanted and have on my list, will obviously match up, like him being a virgin, and not had his first kiss, as well as his likes and dislikes. Then, all of a sudden, everyone, whoever was at the wedding, was just laughing away, very joyfully, and then, of course, I started to laugh in joy too. I donno why. Maybe because everyone else was." Jubilee started laughing but Morph wasn't. "Come on wasn't that funny?"

"No. More like, wow. I'm shocked, actually. Almost too stunned to speak." _There's no way, now. So much for that silly idea, I can't go against what God wants. What was I thinking; to even consider that? God help me; what a big blow. Usually, I bounce back from this sort of stuff, but this, I don't know if I can. I guess only time can do that. What a shame. I guess that's it, it's over now, and I don't know if I can handle that._

"Okay then." _I wonder what's eating him, he looks so upset. Oh, I know, he's probably just missing the Professor again. Like all of us. Oh, you'll be okay, Morph, we all will, in time._ Jubilee patted his leg reassuringly, as she told him, "I know I miss him too. So I'll know it's my hubby when he introduces himself to me. I already know what his first name probably is. So if he tells me that's his name, and it matches my guess, then I'll have to find out his middle and last name with it, or at least his initials to see if his initials match up and if they do match up, bingo, along with his likes and dislikes, I got my man, my hubby, or soon to be hubby. Hey, that reminds me, I never did ask you. What is your name?"


	9. Morph's Backstory

**_Morph's Backstory_**

 _Oh, boy, here we go; knew that would happen, I just knew she was gonna ask me that._ "Can't tell you, it's a secret." _So just, drop it, Jubilee._

"W-a-a-a-a-t? Come on. I mean as silly as it sounds; what if you're him? I really like you."

"I really like you too; Jubes, but liking and loving someone are two different things. No, I'm not, I know I'm not. As sweet and nice as you are, and a great friend to me, I don't think we can be anything more than just that, friends. In fact, I know for a fact, that we can't be anything more than just friends. So, I'm so sorry, I do really like you a lot, but I don't think we're destined to be as you would like, to be together, married."

 _Why does he look so upset, like he's gonna cry?_ "Come on, Morph, you never know. You never know, maybe…come on just tell me your name. You have to, to at least satisfy my curiosity, it will drive me up the wall if I don't know. Besides, we're friends like you said, so I should know what it is, and besides we are going to be in public, in the mall, so I can't be calling you by your codename, Morph, there, right. So just spill it already."

She looked like she was trying to figure it out what was wrong, so he did what Sagittarius's do best, hid his emotions, from her. It wasn't any of her business but his own anyhow, she didn't need to know. It would just make things worse. He didn't need to spend this nice day out with Jubilee with or in tears; it was time to move on, something that he could easily do. Or at least eventually. "Yeah well, just make something up to call me. I don't care what you call me."

"That's stupid; just tell me your name already. What's the big deal with it? Is it embarrassing or something your name?"

"No. Just a regular ordinary name. Nothing special about it."

"Well, then, what is it?"

"Sorry, I would like to tell you, but the reason why I can't is that there are a few people who would like to see me done in," gesturing a slit throat with his thumb. "So I would prefer to keep my identity a secret. I'd like to, I really would, but I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Oh come on, really, who would kill, or want to kill, such a funny sweet guy like you?"

"Awww thanks. But as hard as it is to believe, there are a few, besides Sinister, and his goons; I've made a few enemies, in my life. I made the mistake of telling them my name, and well, I took the threats seriously, after a prank gone wrong, and took off in the night to come here."

"What did you do, and where were you before you joined the X-Men?"

"It was just a stupid prank I pulled that had gone horribly wrong, in the worst posable way. I made a boyfriend really extremely jealous and vengeful, out to kill, along with his offended girlfriend, all because of what I did. But I really had no intention of what happened, but I swear I will never pull a stunt like that ever again. I learned that lesson the hard way. I worked a bit with X-Factor, just for a short bit, didn't really make friends with any of them, and one I couldn't stand; Wolfsbane, and I made enemies there with them. One of them Alex or Alexander, Masters, he has a girlfriend and she was the one I had tried to scare, Lorna her name, that night."

"Dane? If so, then I know exactly who you're talking about. Except for Alex, unless, is his codename Havoc?"

"Yeah, that's him, all right. Yes, Lorna Dane. So you know them then?"

Jubilee nodded, "Bobby or Iceman came here one day; the others had stopped him from causing trouble, while he was looking for Lorna. She and Bobby were in love at one time, but it ended. Lorna didn't love him because Bobby had lost touch with what Lorna loved about him. Being a mutant or rather being an X-Man, and fighting for our rights. He wanted to live a normal life, not fight anyone. I think for like good, call it quits on being a mutant and an X-Man especially."

"I couldn't live like that. I mean not forever, it was bad enough at Muir Island for me. That's why I wanted to leave so badly, even if I wasn't ready then. I mean could do it for a few years; you know, the family thing, rent an apartment or a house for a few years, to raise some kids, as you said you know, until they are maybe 8 or so, and go back to the X-Men when they're old enough or they get their powers. Even that is not an appealing option for me, I rather be off-duty for a year or two, on paternity leave, and only go on missions when they can't do without me."

"Yeah, me too, I could do that for a few years too, or not. Both sides have their ups and downs. The upside of staying with the X-Man is there would be plenty of babysitters. Huh, and chances are they wouldn't let me out with a needy baby let alone while I was pregnant, so not much different than what it's like right now. But if they do let me go on missions, of course, that would be the downside of all the dangers of being an X-Man. Go live somewhere else, oh sure security or safety, but that might also mean needing a job to pay for wherever I end up living, and other things, including a babysitter, but we would be a lot safer, but I also might get pretty bored and restless after a while."

"Me too, for sure. That's the other big downside, especially with me, is the restlessness, a very big one. Hee, hee, I would probably be a vigilantly for the cops, just to get a little action and adventure and fun."

"So what did you do, that made or to make you want to leave X-Factor?"

"What I did was I snuck into Lorna's room to pull a scare prank on her. She had this big cute oversized stuffed teddy bear, probably from Alex, and I hid it in her closet and I posed as her teddy bear. I had in mind just to scare her after she had gone to sleep. You know, glowing red eyes, and I don't know, jump out, and say, hug me, hug me. Something stupid cute and harmless, just to give her a little scare, just for fun."

"Well what's wrong about that, they couldn't take a joke? That sounds like a good one. What went wrong?"

"I had not counted on what I saw that night. Had I known, I would not have dared done what I did, that night. Though it did work out for the best in the end, I'm kinda glad I did do that, otherwise, I never would have joined up with the X-Men otherwise, if that hadn't happened. When I prayed to God to please get me out of this problem, help me smooth things over. I figured that prayer would work so I tried calling them up from a payphone to try smooth things over, but no, they would not forgive me, and I knew for sure their threats were real, as they repeated them to me. I prayed about it some more, and God told me to forgive them, and myself and it's time to move on, to where I need to be. It's time go to the place I had wanted you to go to in the first place, it's also why you didn't make friends here. Go to the mutant school Lorna used to attend; you will be safe and accepted there. School for mutants? Oh, right, she did mention, Xavier's School for the Gifted. So that's why I came here, and I fit right in, and I made friends with everyone, and I felt like I truly belonged and was happy here. Because I was where supposed to be, where God wanted me to be, and doing, what God wanted me to do with my life. God gave me my powers for a reason so I have to use them for good, even if it is just to make people laugh."

"Yup. So what did you see, or do to her, that went so horribly wrong?"

"Her, naked, well I caught a glimpse of her and took off for the hills running. I came in before she did, while, I'll assume, she was in either the shower or the tub. I figured she would get dressed for bed. No, she was there naked and slept naked, on top of her covers, not under them, which would have been better. She probably slept like that because it was so hot out that day; she even had the windows open. So I was kinda just resting sleeping there in that form, so I didn't know or see anything to try to skedaddle out of there; maybe out the open window, before then. So in the middle of the night, I had woken up, and her up as well, as I walk over to her. So she screams and I scream and revert and cover my eyes in shock, as soon as she turns on the light, realizing in horror, that she's naked, and I run for the door. Alex comes right in there because their bedrooms are right next door to each other. As soon as he comes, he's asking, why she was screaming, or if she was hurt. Lorna says he saw me naked, that pervert, he snuck in here just to see me naked. Though yes I did catch a glimpse of her naked, it wasn't my intent at all to peep at her let alone look at her as she slept naked. But Alex wouldn't let me explain or see reason. He just got very angry and let off a few blasts of his powers, saying, I swear to God, if I ever see your face again, I'll kill you where you stand. Lorna is saying the same thing, as she tries to get after me with her powers. But I changed into Quicksilver to bolt it out of there as him, to avoid them. So, while I was gone, I prayed to God and He finally told me what to do, to get out of this mess I had accidentally gotten myself in, which was to leave, permanently. So when I had figured out, was told where I was going to, I got my bus ticket to New York and went to go get my things. I snuck back there when it was safe to do so to get all my things, which most of it was thrown out and scattered on the lawn, by then, and I left and never came back. Didn't even leave them a note or anything, I just left. I had heard Lorna mention the X-Men and the Xavier School, and that she used to work for them. So between me needing to get out of there and what God told me, that's why I joined up with them. But not before changing my identity a bit and dropping my real name." The confession felt good, he felt relieved to finally tell someone besides the Professor the truth, about himself. _Now only one big problem I created for myself for doing what I did. Will she be able to accept that as the truth and accept me still, and more importantly, forgive me, for lying by covering up and hiding my identity, or at least see the reason for it, why I had to?_

(This info can also tie in with the episode Courage when Morph had transformed into Strong Guy, that's where he knew him from. It also explains why his real name has never been revealed, or rather, he had chosen not to reveal it, lest he gets found out somehow, or his past comes back to haunt him. Though the Professor or in this case Jean can read his memories, to confirm it, the truth, which was he had no intention of seeing Lorna naked, as it didn't even cross his mind. Oh, and I believe the Exiles, and or Age of Apocalypse, Morphs', are very separate people or mutants; therefore they should have different names. Heck, we even get a shot of this Morph, though with longer hair, along with the AOA Morph in the same episode, so no, I really believe they are very separate, and that proves it in fact. Why would they both be named Kevin Sydney? Makes no sense to me! Plus on top of it, the AOA Morph has no scent, while this Morph does, and it has been proven, twice. Once in Till Death Do Us Part Pt. 2 when Logan smells Morph in the room and sniffs the double to confirm it. He even tried to get Beast to realize it was a fake, and that was Morph when he says, can't you smell him? Why would he say that if he didn't have a scent to smell? The second is in Courage when Jean says you'll get your answer in about 3 seconds, and before Morph walks in the room, Logan recognizes his scent. So they can keep that name for that Morph, the AOA one, I'm using a different one.)

"Well, wouldn't they still be able to track you down, since they do know what you look like?"

"I kinda changed a lot about my identity when I joined the X-Men, namely my age, hair, and a bit of my skin color, and a tiny bit of my face, as I aged it up. The rest is pretty much as you see it now, only younger, and yes, I did shrink myself down back then too. Only the Professor knows my real age and what I really look like and my name, but he promised me not to tell anyone, and he would treat me like an adult, but I need to train first, before my first assignment or mission, so I did. So, the truth is, this isn't exactly what I look like. Maybe in 15 or 20 years from now, I might look sort of like this. I'm sorry, but I've been living a lie since I joined the X-Men, this isn't the real me. But I had to do it."

"What do you mean, you mean to say, you're really way younger, like how young?"

"Yes, a lot younger. You know how when you first met me how I had black hair and now it's brown," Jubilee nodded, she had wondered about that in truth. "Well, brown is my actual color, but I changed it to black back then to conceal myself and made myself look much paler than I really am, and aged myself up, a lot. When I got to Muir Island, I relaxed it a bit and decided to go back to my actual real hair color, as I was safe there to do that. So I used the excuse reason I had got more sun because I was right by the ocean so I got some more color, a tan, and my hair went lighter, as well because of it. So I was more or less able to also use that as an excuse to have my skin go back to more of its natural color but I still kept my still slightly changed adult form. After that, I was stuck with it."

"Uh, so… really?"

"Yes, really, aside from feeling the need to live this lie, I always tell the truth, I really am a lot younger than you think I am. In fact…"

"Yeah, I get it it's fine, Morph. But like how young are we talking about here, age-wise?"

"I told you already when I said to try 2, or 3, years older than you, I wasn't joking, about that. You can drive a car now, so you're what 16, or 17, I doubt you're older than that, I mean I haven't even hit the big 2-0 yet."

"You're still a teenager?! No way, you can't be, you're really still a teenager?!"

"For a few months yes. I joined the X-Men when I was nearly 15. Got my powers when I was 10 almost 11, though not too proficient with them, I was able to use them. I had gotten into a stressful situation back then so they came a bit earlier than they probably should have. I hadn't even hit puberty, yet when did I get them. Probably shouldn't have got them until I was at least 14 or 15, or after my voice settled down. So of course when I did hit puberty," sounding like it was cracking and pitching, "it sure didn't help me or the situation any with my powers."

"Oh man, I'll bet," Jubilation laughs, but she was still quite shocked to hear that, that Morph was still a teenager himself! Then another thought occurred to her, so if he joined at around age 15, so then that meant one thing. "So you never graduated high school?"

"I did, I'm a bit of a genius; I'm very smart; I just don't act that way. Not all the time. I think probably because of my powers, I have a photographic memory, so once I learn something it stays there I don't usually need to review, I got it. So as much as I liked school, I hated it, because I didn't see the point in going 5 days a week to learn something I already knew and review stuff I already memorized. So when I get bored or at least in school, I cause trouble, I get into mischief, pranks, stuff like that. So I needed a challenge so they skipped me ahead a few grades both in grade and in high school. In fact, that was partly the reason why I got my powers when I did. Being skipped ahead a few times in grade school. I was fine until I entered high school, and that's when all the trouble had started. So between the challenges of still being a little kid in high school, the bullies who were after a nerd like me in high school that refused to let them cheat off of me, my powers had manifested, early. The 3 cretins were threatening me so I ran for the washrooms, and they came in after me. I was thinking to run into the girl's washroom to try to give them the slip, but one of them was a pretty fast runner so I didn't have the chance to try that as I automatically went in the boy's washroom. But that's when my powers had kicked in in my panicked state, and I took my very first form, the principal. I was thinking oh God, I need the principal if he were here; he would take care of these bullies for me. Suddenly, as I dashed in the toilet stall, I felt it, my body changing, for the first time, I felt myself shapeshift and when I looked down I realized, with shock, happiness, and some horror, I was the principal, I even sounded like him. So I mustered up my courage and I slammed open the stall door and gave those bullies what they all had deserved. I threatened them if they ever bullied me again or any other kid in school, they would be expelled, right after a very thorough bare bottomed spanking, and you can be sure that your parents will be there to see it all and to deal with you similarly, right after. In fact, given my current state, I had the advantage and privilege to get all their phone numbers. So I phoned their parents up and told on them all. I suggested to them that they all deal with them, very firmly. I had suggested that back in my day; we used the belt, on the backsides of rotten bullying cheating hooligans like yours. Furthermore, if this does happen again, the police will be called and charges will be laid, so I suggest you deal with it now; before it gets to that point. I think all the parents might have taken my suggestion because, after that, all the bullies had not only stopped bullying but apologized to me, and had written me notes of apology and promised me that they wouldn't ever do it again, to me or anyone else. Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, and I know for a fact, that one of them did get a good sound spanking, for sure, because he looked very uncomfortable when he sat down, and grunted in pain and stood up, before he slowly tenderly sat back down again," Morph giggles some more.

Jubilee wince cringed slightly as she sucked air through her teeth. "Oooh ow. Can't say they didn't deserve it or didn't have it coming to them. Did the bullies ever actually hurt you?"

"One did, he punched me in the arm and warned me the next time it would be in my face if I did not do what was asked of me, and let him copy off of me. I told him, no. Then smartly remarked that I think it's quite pathetic that a high school student has to resort to cheating by being a bully and copping off a grade school kid. I told him if he were smart, which obviously he isn't, he would go back to grade school, namely kindergarten, and go over the basics. I was probably going to be clobbered one, but fortunately for me, I could run a whole lot faster than he could and ran to the principal's office and told on him. Obviously, he got into major trouble, right then and there, and with his parents, as they were called and so were mine. I wasn't in any trouble but he sure was. However, he must not have had taken it too seriously because he still ratted me out, to his bully buddies, that I got smart with him and got him into trouble, which had caused me to get my powers earlier. Actually, it was that same one who got his butt handed to him by his parents."

"Hey, he deserved it. He had it coming to him, for a repeat offense like that, bulling a little kid. He deserved what he got, namely a good whooping on his rear-end."

"Yup. Ever since then though after my powers manifested and I figured them out, I developed the habit that every time I got into trouble at school, whether it was my fault or not or being naughty, or even mild harassment or bullying, I would change into the principal. But because of my smarts, I had graduated early, and left home, shortly after that. Looking for a place to try to put my powers talents and mind to good use and to see the world. I heard of a few organizations looking for mutant freedom fighters, so I found and joined up with X-Factor, and then the X-Men, because of my well, you know, prank. I had no intention of seeing her naked at all."

"Good to know. I'm surprised your folks let you leave so young though. How old were you?"

"Well at that point it was a necessity for me, and I was 14 and ½ when I left home. As much as they loved me and could accept a mutant shapeshifting son, they couldn't help me with my powers. I still did not have good control over them. At times, I would involuntarily shapeshift, at just a thought in my mind, and at times, I would get stuck in said form. That was the main problem with me, was the fear of my own powers, as much as I liked them. As much as I really liked my powers, I tried to not use them as much as I could, but sometimes it happened to me completely by accident or involuntarily. That's when I would start to get freaked out and panic a bit, especially if it was involuntary. What if I change into something that doesn't breathe and I get stuck like that and die? Or what if I have to go pee really badly and I get stuck in some form that doesn't go pee and my bladder explodes. Or my bowels explode all over the place when I shapeshift. Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, oh, you, know, crazy thoughts like that, they would start to go through my head."

"Well, I suppose it is a legitimate fear, especially if you don't know. I would be worried too if I had your powers and I really had to go and I get stuck having to hold it and might not be able to change back. The other one is scary sounding too, but I would imagine given you powers, you should be able to find a way around it to breathe, so you wouldn't die."

"Yeah I can and do, but at that time I didn't know that, and the worst part is I really feared that, that that would happen to me. I would die if I got stuck in a form that didn't breathe. The worst part of it all was I not a fearful person. But I would start to cry and freak out sometimes whenever I took a form and even started to get panic attacks, because of thoughts like that due to my powers, and more so if I couldn't change back. That's why they had to let me leave and paid for the bus ticket to send me there in hopes of getting help with my powers, and get them under my complete control. The fact was after I took my first form, I was in fact stuck like that the whole day, and into the night. It was right before bed when I was trying to figure out how I would ever get my pajamas on, while I was stuck the way I was before I had finally changed back. I had to go home like that on my bike, and try to explain to my parents… yeah, I think you get the idea. That was just a horrible day. So that's why I left as soon as I could, in fact, even at X-Factor they could hardly help me. I was only able to get all the help I really needed and taught how to use and hone my powers to know how to shapeshift when I want to do it and revert or to return to my natural form with ease and confidence here. So it was only at the Xavier School, with the Professor's help that I finally got the self-confidence in myself, and in my powers, without fear of using them. From then on I was fine with having my powers, loved them in fact, and was now at complete ease in using them, and fooling around with them."

"Kind of like the night I met you when you were watching TV and shapeshifting. I'm surprised you had some much trouble with your powers, Morph, I figured you had a good handle on them."

"Not true at all, like most mutants including yourself I hear, I needed help in controlling them and learning how to use them properly, and he was the only one who could help me with that."

"I really miss him, so I'm glad you can become him when we all need a hug from him or his double. So you still like to take off though, right, even now, Wolverine said you did. Or at least that one time you did, you took off for a while, almost a month. What was that all about, you just needed to take off, or take some time off, or what?"

"Yeah well it was just that one time and it wasn't me really taking off per se, and it was Scott's fault I did have to take off in the first place. See I had at that time actually tried to get permission about a month or so beforehand, big mistake, to try to get permission from Cyclops, to leave for a few weeks, so yeah, I got a big no. So I said, to hell with it, just study a bit more, and just go when you're ready, and that's what I did. I knew the driver's manual inside and out, and also I took some online practice driving tests as well as lessons, to prepare me better for winter weather because I was taking my test in the winter. I also took Danger Room driving training when no one was up, to feel confident behind the wheel of a real car, in harsh and extreme weather conditions. It was similar to me learning how to fly in the flight simulator. That was my driver's education. I went back home to visit my folks and all my relatives who lived nearby or were visiting, and to get my driver's license. I stayed there for a while to visit and wait until it came in the mail my driver's license, then I went back to the X-Men. I had gone home on the bus, and I came back to the Xavier's School in this car. It was both a big Chiasmas and a birthday present, for my sweet 16th birthday, but I did pay for part of it, as for the car insurance, that was all me."

"Ohh I see. I can't believe though he didn't let you leave home for a visit if that was all it was."

"I know, me either, Cyke didn't give me permission to leave even for a vacation, slash family visit. Of course, I didn't tell him I was going there to also get my driver's license. So I just left, I gave him plenty of time and advanced notice, but he wouldn't let me go home for a visit. I told him I was heading home for a needed visit, and for the holidays, maybe a little family vacation to the mountains to ski, for my birthday. But he said no. So not going to happen. So drop it. I begged him, I need to go home, I really miss my family, and I need to see them, let them know how I'm doing now. But he said no, and there's a phone you can use for that. It could have been because it was so close to Christmas and New Year's, and my birthday, though they didn't do too much aside from having a little party for me. I had figured that he didn't want me to leave because of all that, even if I wanted to be home for the holidays. So I phoned ahead to let them know was coming but later, and when I would go. Then I waited until after the New Year to leave. I didn't say anything, I just up and left for the bus terminal at night and slept all the way there. Didn't take my X-Man com-link or anything I just left, I would come back when I was ready, and teach Scott a lesson in the process."

"What a jerk to do that to you though, still. Especially without an explanation why. I mean, what if it was a real emergency, and you had to go home? That stupid inconsiderate jerk. I think I just lost a little more respect for that jerk." _I mean it was bad enough already what he did to you, to leave you and Beast for dead, to make me lose most of it right then and there that day, but that really takes the cake. Not to mention what he did to me as well, that guy is just really asking for it, he's nothing but a bully._ Jubilee just shook her head not impressed with Scott Summers, no, not at all; he was a lousy louse of jerk that needed a swift kick in his pants. Preferably in the front part of them! She for one would be very glad to get away from him for the whole week, that's how upset and angry she was with him right now! Maybe she could talk Morph into taking her with him when he left to go see his family. At least then, she would get or find out his name, no problem. Course a thought occurred to her as well. She could also find out X-Factor's number and call them to find out about Morph's real name that way. But no, she would not do that, she would not betray him like that or his trust, ever, she shook her head. Because she would be no better than Scott, in that; if she did that. After all, they both could really, **_really_** , mean it, still even now, what they had threatened said to him, if still offended, even if she figured they shouldn't be by now.

"Yeah tell me about it, yet I'm still friends with the jerk. Guess I'm really forgiving huh."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, maybe a little too forgiving, ha, ha, ha, ha, I mean there's forgiving and there is letting people take advantage of you."

"Yeah tell me about it, but I won't let him walk all over me unless I want my back cracked."


	10. Oh, Crappy, Ideas!

**_Oh, Crappy, Ideas!_**

"So can you show me what you really look like? Please."

"No." Jubilee pouted with her bottom lip pout sticking out, and tried to do her best pouty putty tat eyes she could. "Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, oh don't do that."

"Why, because it's working?"

"No, because you'll get your pretty face stuck like that."

She playfully whacked him in the leg, "Oh come on, just show me."

"Not now, I will later, I promise, I'll show you what I really look like, if you keep it to yourself, that I'm still a teenager, okay, I'd still like to go out on missions."

"Not be stuck at home, like me all the time."

"Exactly. "

"But at least this time I would have company."

"True, but considering what happened, I think we will need all hands on deck now, to face the troubles ahead. Sigh, though I do want to drop the guise and just be myself. We'll see; I have to pray about it, see what the Lord says. But you will be the first to see the real me."

"So, can you, will you, now? After all, it's later now."

Morph had to admire that in her; he could be just like that too, sneaky, to try to catch someone in their words. "Later, later, okay, and certainly not here, not in the car, and certainly not in public. I don't want to draw attention to myself, by changing. I'm gonna try to restrain myself from doing any shapeshifting, in public, if I can. If anyone sees that, they might figure out it was me, and or worse, Xavier's not really around anymore, and we just can't have that."

"Right, I guess not. Just don't do anything illegal then."

"Why would I do that?"

"Just saying, you don't want a cop pulling you over, and asking for your license, and ID."

"Right, good point. Uh-oh, oh no, not now." They had been moving slowly along but it wasn't very fast and on off stopping and stuck idling for a minute or two before moving along again, but now there was a new problem. "Oh, no, ohh, come on, oh hurry up, what's the holdup?"

"What's the matter?"

"Ohh, I gotta go to the bathroom, really badly, shoot, I hate this."

"But you went pee before we left." Not unless he drank a lot of water right before they left, he couldn't have to pee that badly now, in about an hour or hour and a half or 2 hours' time. She wasn't sure how long it had been. Uh-oh, not unless, oh dear. "Oh, you don't mean…"

"I'm afraid so. The good news is now I'm not constipated anymore, apparently, the bad news is I can't get to a bathroom right now to take care of it." Obviously, it was far too late now to turn back to go to the Dunken' Doughnuts. So there was no choice they had to keep moving forward, and hopefully, he could find a rest stop someplace so he could take care of it before there was an even bigger mess to take care of!

"Oh no. Well, think of the bright side of things."

"Like what?"

"Well, as you said, now you're not constipated, and be thankful it isn't diarrhea you have, that would be way worse," Morph smiled and giggled at that with a few nods of his head. "Or just a really full bladder," Morph looked up and nodded again. "Although you could easily take care of it, being a guy, it's not a problem for a guy."

"No, actually, I can't, since I really don't like the idea of peeing in public. In fact, I'll hold my pee in, or make my bladder bigger before I will dare to use a public restroom. I can't stand using them, public restrooms."

"I can't blame you for that, they are pretty nasty sometimes. Um, you're not gonna fart in the car are you?"

"Hey, it's my car, if I want to or need to fart mark my territory, you'll know it," he giggles, "but I'll try not to, and I'll crack open a window if I do stink it up in here."

"I hear when you gotta go really bad; you're supposed to think of sex. But I think that's just for when you need to pee really badly, I don't know if it works for when you need to poop."

Morph made a face, and then slowly smiled and eyed her as he swatted her leg for saying that. "Shame on you, I can't believe you just said that‼ I don't even have a sex life! To think of!"

"How about thinking of planting a big wet juicy one on the lips of your dream girl." Morph looked at her and shook his head and looked off and away and smiled and shook his head. "You have no idea do you?"

"Have you had your first kiss yet?"

"No."

"Neither have I. That's why."

"Well, you were doing a pretty good job of that earlier, when you were running your mouth off, about having your first kiss, with me, yet, and or more. Besides, you have an imagination don't you?"

"Yes, a very overactive one at that," he said with a grin. Sometimes that overactive imagination got him into a lot of trouble, and it was usually or partly due to his powers. Not that he minded getting into trouble, because he had an uncanny knack, for getting out of it, one way, or another.

"You did say you're a hopeless romantic, so just slip into a little fantasy about smooching and necking, and making out, with your dream girl. Maybe it will help take your mind off of it some."

Blushing profusely, but hiding it with his powers so Jubilee wouldn't see, but his voice betrayed his emotion of embarrassment as it pitched slightly. "Forget it. I really have to release a sewer snake so badly right now and I'm trying hard to keep the beast in me that I can't think of much else; let alone necking right now." The fact was, aside from that, he did not need his mind to wander off to what he really wanted to fantasize about doing right now, Jubilee's suggestion. Morph knew he has a special someone he was still longing for, and to be with her right now. So it was best that he did not peruse unwholesome thoughts about that. Then of course, further embarrass himself, by working himself up, in that little fantasy, only to make his body react, to the mental thoughts.

"Well, that's a new one. I like baking brownies."

"So do I and my brownies are so ready to come out of my butt oven, right now, hot, fresh, and stinky. Best of all it runs on gas!"

"Ohh, good one, Morph, ha, ha, ha, heh, heh, heh, heh, you gotta download a brown-load."

"Oh, that's a good one for a computer nerd like me, I like that one."

"Touching cloth?"

"Never heard of that one and it doesn't make sense."

"I was asking you if you are touching cloth yet."

"Uh okay, but what does that mean exactly?"

"You never heard of touching cloth," Morph shook his head no. "Well now we're even then, now I know what mutable means. Touching cloth means you gotta poop so badly that the turtlehead or part of the poop has already come out of your butt and it's touching your underwear. Similar to prairie dogging, only worse."

"Ohh! Oh, I'm sorry I asked! Oh, that's gross! Oh, that's nasty! I like it!" Laughing about it, "All the more incentive for me to buy new underwear, today, huh!" Laughing loudly about it.

"Oh, are you?"

"Getting there, but I'm keeping the food baby in for a little longer." A few seconds later, "Ooh, unfortunately, the baby is talking back to me already the stinking little brat," he says opening up all the windows. "Sorry, I tooted."

"Ohh, well don't try to fart anymore or you're liable to shart."

"Well, at least I know what sharting means."

"So you said you would get married, right? So have you, really had a dream, about your perfect soulmate or wife?"

"In I fact, have, yes, very similar to yours actually; but that was back at Muir Island when I actually started getting better, thanks to your help. Oh gosh. Ohh, ooh, oh it's pushing to get out oh I can't take this anymore; I have to go, right now."

"Where? We're stuck in traffic."

"I know! Uh, do you want to switch places with me?"

"Uh sure, guess you can't drive or concentrate on the road when you have to poop that badly."

"Well, that, and I'm gonna take off and go find someplace to take care of this mess before I do make one in my pants."

"In public?"

"If I have to. Oh that, no I'll find a restroom, somewhere first. I can use my powers to try to camouflage and hide myself if I do try to unload my bowels in public, but that's the very last option for me. I'll try to find a restroom, first."

"But you said you hate using public restrooms."

"I know, but I will use one, in an emergency situation, and this is one, even the mall bathroom if I can make it that far. Unh and I don't think I can make it that far. You're gonna have to take over driving, so I can go find a bathroom. Ah, shoot, just hold on, we're moving again."

"Maybe we're actually, moving; moving now, oh I hope so, seems that way. Maybe whatever it was is finally cleared up now. Can you make it to the mall? It should only be another 10 to 15 minutes depending on how long this takes to get past. Or do you need a pit stop sooner? Maybe you can try to use your powers to help yourself out?"

"I know I can use my powers, for sure, for a full bladder, but I'm not so sure about the other end…um….? I don't think it works so much that way. I guess I can physically plug my butt up with skin, so it doesn't come out, but still. I've been waiting for this for 4 days now; so I don't want to do that. Ohh, I'm gassy and I really need to go, I can't take it, I can't stand this."

Jubilee watched as Morph shifted a bit in his seat to try to get comfortable but was getting very antsy, he probably would have an accident if he didn't get to a bathroom soon. "Maybe umm," it was worth a shot at least, if it didn't work, no harm in trying it out, but if it did work, great. "I heard this works as a distraction as well as to help hold it in for peeing, so, it might work for popping."

He glanced at where her hand was headed to; and would have no part of it, but that's not quite, where she put it. "Hey, what are you doing? Hey what wait, hey, hey no, ohh, never mind, ohh hey hmmm ohh mmm." Jubilee did something to help him out that worked well, or at least it really did distract him slightly from his problem. She rubbed his leg, and thigh, a bit, and that was enough.

"Just hold on, clench it back in, you can make it, I believe in you, Morph, you can do it," she patted rubbed his leg a bit. "I can help you. Tense up that poop holding muscle, clench those cheeks, and just concentrate on the road and holding it. But don't think of it, how bad it is. You can do it; you can; and will make it. Just try not to think about that, anything but that, like um…" W _hat does he like to do that's fun?_ "Pulling a big prank, on Scott. Yeah, think of one, a really good one; a big prank to pull, one that maybe we can do together, to really get him. Scott really deserves it. To get him back for not letting you go see your family."

Voice pitched slightly, "Why are you rubbing my leg?"

"I read this helps you hold it in when you have to pee, hey, it was worth a shot for the other end, but it seems to work. It's mostly for women, but it might work for guys too. Is it working for you?"

"Ah. Yeah, really good. Works nice, ahh, I uh mean it feels nice, good."

"Really good? So it is working?" Morph nodded. "Oh good, glad I can help. We'll stop as soon as you can, to, you know, to take care of that." Jubilee kept an eye out for any place that might have a washroom, a gas station, a restaurant, fast-food place, grocery store, anything.

"Ahh feels so good yeah works nice, mmm, so good." Well it worked, the leg rub had really worked, his mind was drifting away from his bottom end, to other things, as well as the road.

"Ha, ha, ha, heh, heh, heh, that look on your face is so funny. Now, what can we do to get back at Scott, for being a douchey jerk, hmmm?"

"Umm…" His mind cleared slightly from the slightly disappointed and depressed state he was feeling, a few minutes ago, as a new spark of hope hit him. "You really like pranks and pulling them? Or are you just saying that for my sake, to help me out?"

"Oh yeah, big time. It's not just for your sake, I really do love pulling them, just as long as they don't really hurt anyone, you know. Because then it's not fun. I just couldn't pull any pranks, with you gone, or rather supposedly dead. I made Wolverine pretty upset with that one prank I pulled."

"Really? What did you do?"

"Taped up the sprayer attachment on the kitchen sink with clear tape."

"Always a classic."

"Wolverine got doused with it in the crotch when he went to go get a drink of water; he looked like he wet his pants."

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, well, he did in a way, because of you."

"True, true."

"So I take it he got pretty ticked off with you for that and scared you away from pulling another one, or at least on him, right?"

"Sort of. I had told him I'm a prankster, and he just screams at me and tells me to never ever pull another one ever again, or else. I knew he would be upset, so I had expected anger, but not this. Not what he did. Instead of sounding angry, about it, Wolvie sounded upset almost like he was going to start crying. I had no idea why. Turns out, he _was_ about ready to cry. I had followed him to go say sorry to him, to try to smooth things over, and I overheard him, crying in his room, about you. 'I can't believe Jubilee's a prankster just like you are, Morph, but no one can or will ever replace you. I won't let them.' I knew at that point I couldn't pull another one, at least not for a good long while. Not until they got over your death, or at least he did."

"Wow, Wolverine crying. I didn't think he was much of the crying type, very rarely, he's a tough guy. Guess my supposed death really hit him pretty hard."

"Really hard, we all felt it. Me especially. I didn't even get a chance to get to know you, but I felt so bad, and like a part of me was missing, like a part of my heart got torn out of me that day."

"Really," he smiled. "So uh, why do you like to pull pranks? Got a reason why you do it?"

"Well I just like doing it for the fun mischief partly, I'm a brat, and I'm a fun-loving girl, aside from my usual bold Aries nature."

"Oh, you're an Aries huh. I didn't think Aries's are much for being pranksters, you know given their usual bold nature, I thought they were more of the serious type. When's your birthday? I guess I missed it. But I'll get you something nice, to say happy belated birthday to you." That's when it really hit him. _Wait a sec, if it's that date, then it's another tick towards her, not away, if she was born on…_

"Thanks, appreciate it. Uh, and that's part of the reason why I like pranks so much. Is because of my birthday, when I was born."

"No, way! You are not!" _Could it be? But she's got that dream… Maybe it is. I couldn't be could I, no; it's ordinary, nothing special about it, certainly nothing like has she described. But then again, if something is special is in the eye or mind of the beholder, so, maybe…_ "Really, April Fool's Day, you were not!"

"Yes, I am, I'm an April Fools baby."

 _She is, like in my dream. I have to wonder. Maybe she really is. I can't get her out of my mind._ With a big wide grinning toothy smile, "Oh man, you are so my new partner in crime then, for sure! You bet we're gonna team up and pull a few good ones, for sure." _I have to find out, for sure._

"Right after you start to feel more like yourself, to pull pranks again."

"I'm already feeling much better already, especially now that I need the can. Although there's one problem that I have that can't be fixed of so easily, besides from the homesickness." _What I have no medicine can cure me of, and frankly, I'm glad I do have it, it's so wonderful. I got new hope now._

"Really, what is it?"

"Hmm, I think you'll all find out soon enough. Huh, and if I'm wrong about what I do suspect, then I'm gonna be suffering from something much worse, than what I have now."

"Oh no, is it bad, contagious bad? Please tell me I have to know. You're not gonna die from it are you? We just got you back."

"No. I wouldn't call it contagious, but it usually happens to everyone some time in their life, and sometimes more than once. You, by the sounds of it, from what you told me and over the phone, have had it a few times. As for me; same too, in my own way."

"What is it, please tell me."

Blushing slightly, "I've fallen in love with someone so special to me. It's lovesickness. I met someone very special and dear to me, while I was recovering at Muir Island."

"Awww, so you might have found your Mrs. Right, huh. That's; great, Morph," she hesitated slightly in her words to congratulate him. "I hope she says yes, and loves you back, so you don't have to suffer from a broken heart. Whatever you do, don't let her kiss you unless you know for sure; unless it's on the cheek, or head or something like that. You know, the heartbreak will be so much worse if you get too involved with her, when she doesn't love you back. Kind of like the virginity thing, you only have one first kiss; so just make sure she is the one before you do kiss her."

"Yeah, good advice, I think might even wait until our wedding day when we're actually married before I do have my first kiss. Then it will really be memorable, for the both of us."

"Awww, ohh, that is so romantic, I'm gonna do that too, you've inspired me, that's a great idea. Then it really will be a dream white wedding." Perhaps that was what the dream also meant, to save herself, not just her virginity, obviously, but her first kiss as well. Sighing deeply with a bit of stinging regret, she pondered that dream as they moved along. But that didn't last long as her mind trailed back to the first day they met. Then back to his current problem. At least his poop problems had gone away, it seemed, well aside from the fact that he needed to go but couldn't get to a toilet right now to take care of it. So her mind was now on that idea a bit, and then it hit her, a prank to play. "Hey, uh, ever play a prank with Ex-Lax?"

"Oh, yeah, I have, and I think I know where you got that idea from. Can you cook?"

"Yeah a little, just so long as it doesn't involve any or very little measurements. I rather cook without a recipe."

"Me too. Believe it or not, I can cook, I just don't. My way of cooking is a bit, different, from what the girls usually do. The girls cook in a bowl trying to make the least amount of mess as possible; my way involves my hands and the counter. So they think I'm making a mess, maybe a little, but that's part of the fun of cooking."

"Well, the important thing is it tastes good, maybe not so much what it looks like. Or how it's made. Besides you can always work on your presentation skills later."

"So true. So, you're thinking of chocolate Ex-Lax poop prank, are you?!"

"You got it! Hot chocolate actually, I can't screw that up."

"Well, I make really good brownies, and you can certainly help me make them. Then brownies are what Scott is gonna be making, in the toilet, and maybe in his pants!"

"Know what else we can put in there is Metamucil and Magnesium Citrate for the bubbles."

"Metamucil I get, but Magnesium Citrate, what does that do to you?"

"Makes you poop, if you were still constipated, well, you could have taken it, it's really natural, and something your body needs anyhow. Maybe that's what Beast was going to give you, was some Magnesium Citrate. Well, now you know for next time it happens, it will help you get going and get things moving along. You can get the stuff in powder or liquid form. So if you want to take something natural, to help you go, take a hefty dose of that, your body needs it, the magnesium anyhow, to help you function properly, and it works as a good stool softener as well. The liquid Magnesium Citrate would be good to put in juice or something like Kool-Aid. But the Magnesium Citrate powder will act like baking soda in the recipe. It will give it the bubbles the recipe needs, while also adding an added extra little kick in the pants if you know what I mean."

"Oh yeah, I know what you mean. We could so make it for the whole crew, right before you leave, put them all in a real, shitty mood," he laughs.

"Oh yeah, really shitty, and best of all, I won't be there, to clean up the mess. But we so gotta videotape that; you gotta video tape that for me, okay. Promise me you will videotape that for me."

"Oh you're devious; you want to watch that, the others mess themselves or almost not make it?"

"You're shitting me; that would be the best part! Especially if I can't be there in person to watch it all, go down. Besides, I want to put it up on YouTube, for everyone to watch and enjoy it!"

"Oh, I love it! I love your style! Oh no, all this poop talk, it's back again." He was not paying full attention to the road as he was more squeezing it back and back in. "Ooh, ohh shoot, rub my leg, rub my leg. Ohh okay, oh man." He didn't know why it felt so good when she rubbed his leg but it did and it seemed to work for a minor distraction. "Oh, it wants to come out so bad right now. Forget it; I have to go, now. Or I won't make it to the mall."

"Um, maybe you don't have to, don't you see it up the road, you can stop up there, I see there's a gas station up there, and maybe they have a washroom you can use."

Morph looked to where Jubilee was pointing he had really great eyesight, better than 20/20, but the problem was he wasn't even paying attention at all, to notice that, that a gas station was not far off. Between his need to poop, the leg rubbing Jubilee was giving him, and their pranking mischief ideas, he had got too distracted to notice to look ahead of the road rather than what was in front of him, what was coming up ahead, relief! His Sagittarius luck had saved him again, from an accident. Now to just get there in time. "Okay quick, while we're stopped, get in the driver's side, while I make a run for the border." Morph got out and took off running holding his belly tummy area while Jubilee got in and took over driving.

"See you in a bit, Morphy. Have a good one." It was still slow going but they were moving. So she would either be at the gas station by the time he got out or maybe be up the road a bit more.

"I will if I make it in time. Oh man, oh man, oh man, hold it, squeeze it in, hold it, ooh, gotta go, so badly, oh shoot." He dashed inside the door, and looked around, to spot it. "Do you have a washroom I can use? Please tell me you do, it's an emergency."

"Yes, it's in the back, but it's for paying customers only."

"Oh come on!"

She was well past the gas station when Morph got in. He smelled clean so that must mean he did make it in time. "Did you make it; feel better?"

"Ohh, yes, so much better, yeah, I made it. Sigh, tons better, and 5 Lbs. lighter."

"I'll bet, after 3 or 4 days of not pooping. What are you eating? It smells like peaches."

"Here," tossing her the package. "Take a couple, but I want most of it though."

"They made you buy something didn't they?"

"Yeah, but it's all right, I like bubble or chewing gum anyhow, and I know so do you."

"How did you know?"

"I saw you chewing the stuff and blowing bubbles when you video called me."

"Oh right. Mmmm, peach chewing gum. I had no idea they made this stuff. I just go for the bubble gum not chewing gum."

"Hey if I'm buying it I'm getting the kind I like."

"I really like this peach chewing gum too, but I think grape bubble gum is still my favorite. So you did make it right, you didn't uh, touch cloth."

"Totally clean; sigh, but boy I tell ya that poop sure felt so good coming out, especially after 4 days. Any longer and I would have been really worried."

"Tell me about it, relief in more ways than one, I'll bet it did feel good."

"Okay, I will. That caca felt so good coming out; and I didn't flush the big stinker I left in the toilet, either, because that jerk made me pay for something before I could use the washroom. But I got my vengeance on him for that move, after I moved my bowels. I looked; it was a big Lincoln Log. I used my powers to help me get it out, so to be sure, it is a big and long toilet clogger I left in there. So to be sure, they will have to take their chances, in flushing that sucker down, or pull it out by hand, and dispose of it," Morph laughs joyfully loudly!

Jubilee jaw dropped at his blunt honesty, as she sputtered and snorted at the shocking revelation and shot her head over at his smiling goofy face. "Morph‼ Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, oh gosh, I really can't believe you admitted to that that you didn't flush! Oh, the decimation of the toilet bowl you must have left to exact your revenge! I can't believe you! I can't believe you did that, just to get him back."

"Well you did ask me about it and I'm not one to mince words, I always tell the truth. I think I made my point, it stunk really badly in there, and I didn't use the air fresher they had in there either. But don't you worry, I did wash my hands, I always wash them after I use the bathroom."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, I can see that I should never get on your bad side if those are the things you do to get back at people, who've done you wrong."

"It's over now, however, they will have to deal with it for sure, I warned the jerk after I left, that I left him a little something, to teach him a little life lesson about being fair. When someone has to go, they mean it; and don't keep them waiting, or you will be the one cleaning up the mess you caused. I punish prank sometimes, that's me. I love doing it too, ooh, I really love it a lot, a whole lot."

"Really, is that what turns you on, or something?"

"Or something, yeah. I have no idea, what really turns my crank, to put me in the mood. But yeah, pranks, do, I guess in a way. I do get a real big thrill every time I do pull one, especially if it's successful. Maybe that's why I like pulling them so much, I always get that thrill going off too when I get into a good one, it's like totally wow, yikes, so good. Plus I'm a little obsessed with it too."

"Really, well, whatever floats your boat. Want to hear my weird one?"

"Sure thing."

"Haircuts, I love it when someone touches my hair and head especially. So whenever I get my haircut, I always get a shampoo, before and after, and some places even give head massages. Oh, and don't get me started on what that does to me."

Giggling a big, "Interesting, I can imagine, and that's not weird at all. Um, just out of blatant curiosity, can you rub my leg again, like you were doing earlier, to help me hold it?"

"Uh, sure, why, did it feel good or something?"

"Yeah, really good. Just uh, wondering something."

"If this also floats your boat?"

Chuckling sheepishly, "Uh-ha, uh yeah. Oh-ohh man, oh that feels even better now, now that I don't have to poop. Okay, you better stop, man, you hit the right spot, ohh that's where I like getting rubbed right there, and you do it so well, mmm; I almost don't want you to stop. But for politeness sake, I think you better."

"Hey, maybe you also like it if someone sits on your lap."

"Probably." There was a minor motorcycle accident, the motorcyclist had tried to pass a car but couldn't quite slow-down in time. Whoever it was, apparently, wasn't terribly hurt, but had gotten into a collision from that. However, they were only letting the vehicles go by in the one lane now from the 3-lane highway, hence, why it was slower going. They finally did arrive at the mall, and shopped, and had a wonderful fun time there together, buying and getting the things that they both needed, talking, catching up a bit more, and just plainly having fun together in each other's company.


	11. Meeting, Her, Foster Parents

**_Meeting, Her, Foster Parents_**

Jubilee and Morph were headed back home after she treated him and introduced him to her favorite mall treat, chili fries, he liked them. Now on their way back she also said she had yet another special surprise for him, on the way back home. So she had been directing him to that special place she wanted to take him to. "Keep going up this road here."

"All right, but this isn't the way back to the school." He could really do with getting back there soon, as he wondered where they were going.

"I know. Turn left up here."

"You trying to get me lost or something?"

"Hardly. Down this road, and, that house right there, that's my foster parent's place." With a dirty wicked smile, she asked him, "Do you want to go take a dip in the hot tub?"

"Are you serious?! Yes! But, I don't have a swimsuit to put on."

"Really?"

"No, I didn't buy one unlike you. I should have bought one though; I don't think I even have one, or at least one that fits me properly anymore."

"That's too bad. Guess you'll just have to… skinny dip then."

"Oh, you dirty little bugger. You want to see me nakey, you wanna see me all nudie, don't you? You little pervert! Hey!"

Jubilee slapped him once on his side for saying that before she got out of the car and rummaged around for her swimsuit and chatted with Morph before he locked up. "Oh like that's going to be a big problem, with you, as outgoing as you are. Or if you're so worried about it then just use your X-Man tights undies as a swimsuit; they're practically made of the same material anyhow. Just don't put your foot in your big mouth, whatever you decide to do. But if you're at all concerned with that, I think we do have some mouthwash in the bathroom, where you can, _change_."

Rolling his eyes at the joke she made, slightly at his expense, "I'm game if you are, and I'll be sure to use it before I leave the bathroom." Music to his ears times two, not only did he badly need the bathroom, but was looking forward to having a soak in the hot tub now. Glad to comply with any rules or hot tub use or etiquette they had.

"Well, not just the mouthwash, you have to actually use it, the toilet, I mean, before you go in the hot tub, that's one of the rules. Pee before you go in the hot tub; well, go to the bathroom period. As well as to take a shower before going in." She waited until after he locked up before asking him. "So, uh, now that we're here, I guess I should be calling you by your actual name. Now, uh, what was it…uh…?" snapping her finger trying to make it look like she was trying to remember it.

"S-a… oooh, ohh, you almost got me! Good try, good try!"

"Come on, I can't be calling you by your codename you know. It was bad enough in the mall."

"Your foster parents know about us, right, obviously."

"Obviously."

"Then it's no big, if I chose to go by my codename then, right, shouldn't be a problem unless they make it one. So… Unless they insist, I'm not telling them."

"Then I will make them insist."

Morph glared at her and darted after her, back and forth, at the front, side, and around, and at the back of his car, as he dashed after her, as Jubilee screamed a bit, as he giggles, and playfully chases her! After a bit of noisy chasing and screaming, he finally caught her and grabbed her up and held her. "I got you now!"

"Hey, hey, what are you doing?" She was flipped somewhat upside-down as he put her over his shoulder. "Morphy, stop it; let go, or I'll…"

"Or you'll what? Hee, hee, hee, hee, ha, ha, hee, hee, hee, hee, I had to ask!" Morph didn't let the tickles deter him from getting to his goal, which was to the hot tub or at least the front door right now. Seems Jubilee's screams as she was chased by Morph had gotten the attention of a few of the neighborhood kids, who watched the fun show. "Quit, hee, hee, hee, hee, s-s-s hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, s-stop screaming, you have this coming to you, hee, hee, hee, hee ha, ha, hee, hee, hee, s-s-stop tickling me-hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, already, before I drop you, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! Stop it or else!" Oh sure he loved to be tickled, but this was not an appropriately safe situation to be doing it, where he, or worse, she, could get hurt.

Morph was squirming quite a bit, so she teased, "Or else what, you'll pee your pants!"

"That's a p-o-s-s-hee, hee, hee, hee, hee; quit it, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee; a p-possibility too! Quit tickling me! Why are you tickling me, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, when I could drop you?"

"Oh you wouldn't do that, you like me too much to dare drop me. Besides, it's because I want to hear that cute little laugh of yours, that's why!"

"You just want hear me laugh? Cute, laugh?"

"Yeah it's so cute when you go hee, hee, hee, it's a very adorable laugh you got, and I love it."

"Really? You really like it, y-you, love m-my, adorable, laugh?" This time he didn't hide it, he showed it on his face, very clearly.

"Yeah, it's one of the many things I really like and love about you, is your cute adorable laugh. Oh my, gosh, Morph, are you blushing? I thought you said you don't embarrass easily."

"Shut up, it's a first for me, okay, a girl who actually likes the way I laugh. I've gone on a few dates, but, I never got past the first one, because a lot of the girls I tried to date got turned off by it, but you actually like it, it's…" Morph didn't want to say, or show, he was so touched by it; that much, by what Jubilee just said, and start crying because it really meant so much. That; really meant a whole lot to him. Rather he went to the front porch and banged on the door. "Honey, I'm home‼"

"Honey, I'm home?"

"Okay, fine." Just imitating her voice. "Mommy, I'm home‼!"

A few of the neighborhood kids looked at each other and whispered a few things as they all watched the two carefully. They were all suspicious of mutants now, and this was unusual, to say the least. Not to mention the guy's weird name, it was enough to heighten their suspicions about the two, or at least about him. They soon took off to go warn someone, about the two. Namely a neighbor who was a young member of a certain organization.

"Morph, really. So girls don't like your laugh?"

"Yeah it got so bad I figured I should try to laugh more normally, ha, ha, rather than hee, hee. But I've always been pretty much a hee, hee, laugher, all my life."

"Well, that explains a few things. Namely why you laughed that way in the Danger Room. But I want you to just be yourself; I just love your laugh."

With a slight blush and a sheepish smile, "Is that the only thing you like, or, love, about me?"

"Your smile, your nose, your cute and well-defined cheekbones, and a few other things as well, amongst your blunt honesty, and your prankster nature." Now it was Jubilee's turn to blush and be self-conscious about it. "What is taking them so long, to come to the door? Especially with all the noise, we were making. Are they even home? Sure looks like it."

"Mabey they're a little busy, upstairs, getting it on, doing the dirty, having sex, making love. Busy making you a big sister."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, oh sure, right. Um, newsflash, Morph, they can't."

"Oh, why? Too old? You know despite the age, unless there's a serious injury, you're never too old to have, marital relations, after all, it only strengthens the bond."

"No, it's not that, I'm sure. No, make that, I know, they still do that. It's conceiving issues; that's why they fostered me because they can't have any of their own."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. So is it him who's firing the blanks, or is it she who's got no eggs to bake with? Or are they just rotten ones?"

"Morph!" My, he could be really blunt and to the pint, when he wanted to be, yet he still had a charmingly funny way of putting it. Does he have a low sperm count, or has she gone into menopause, or almost literally, no eggs, and or rather reproductive issues?

"What? Just asking, aaah, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, stop it, hee, hee, hee, hee, before I do drop you, or do wind up leaving a puddle on the front porch here! I gotta pee really badly as it is, and you're sure not helping it by tickling me, it's making it worse ticking me."

She did stop but was suspicious that it was also just an excuse, to get her to stop. "Oh sure you gotta pee, you're just saying that I saw you head to the men's room, and then go in to use it."

"I didn't go; I only washed my hands in there. Kinda an excuse really to go pee in there, but I couldn't go. I told you I don't use public restrooms. But I was going to try to go, but when you said, before I went in there, I've ordered a treat for us, and after we eat it, we're heading out. I figured okay, we're done shopping, and leaving for home after we eat, so we'd be home soon. No problem, I can hold it until then. So I didn't go pee in there, I knew I could wait until we get home to go there, so I just went in and just washed up before eating. I couldn't go pee in there if I wanted to." Mind flashed back to that time… then what he saw in the washroom. Too similar. Couldn't do it. Couldn't take the chance. No way.

"Oh, I see." She did see him go in because the washrooms are right by the food court. But yes, he could have just gone in just to wash his hands. Still, it begged the question, "What is your deal or big problem with public restrooms, anyhow, Morph, why can't you use them?"

He didn't answer her, rather he just imitated her voice again as he knocked again, "Mommy, oh mommy, daddy, hey daddy, I'm home‼" Back to normal, they waited a bit longer. "Should we just go in?" Bouncing a bit, "I really gotta go."

"Yeah, I think it will be all right. Especially if they are a little busy upstairs."

Morph opens the door, and peers cautiously in and looks around stretching his neck a bit in first with his powers before he walks in. "Looks like the coast is clear to me, no marauders around. I think it's safe to come in," and walks inside still carry holding her over his shoulder looking around a bit.

"I thought you have to go. So do you think you can find your way to putting me down already?"

"Why would I want to do that, when I'm so enjoying the nice view I got here, plus I get to do this," and gave her butt a light playful slap! "Brat!"

"Ow, hey, ooh, not funny, Morphy."

"Besides we walked over the threshold to together with me carrying you, so you know what that means, hee, hee, hee, hee."

She glared at him and shook her head and smiled charmingly back at him, "You are so weird and just so charmingly funny. I can't help but smile. I love that about you, amongst the other things I like about you."

"Me too, because you know how to make me laugh and know how to have fun with me, and play with me, and that's exactly why I married you."

Laughing away about it more, what a jokester. "We ain't married, Morph, it just doesn't work that way, I'm sorry to say. Yeah, we may have walked over the threshold together, or rather you carried me over it, but it doesn't mean we're hitched or anything."

"No, it just means we get to be really good friends now, besties."

Jubilee just laughs, "All right, you got it, besties it is then." Jubilee then realized something as Morph still had her in his arms. "Tell me you didn't do this with Logan."

"Oh heck no, I don't think I could pick Logan up if I tried to. No. So he carried me over the threshold instead," he laughs, finally putting her down on the couch. He was about to take look around to find the bathroom, or be told where it was, and go use it. Then have a seat with her there, to wait for her foster parents. But didn't get a chance to do either of those things.

"You're gay," Jubilee's foster father asks coming down the stairs, along with her foster mother right behind him.

"Yeah, pretty much most of the time I try to be."

"Oh, um…," Martha didn't know what to say.

"Oh, you," swatting him in the hip. "He's just joking around. Like he always does."

"Oh, you thought I meant I'm a homosexual, heck no, I meant happy. I uh actually have a very cute and sweet girl I have my eye on already, that I'm very interested in."

"But I overheard you mention Logan walked you over the threshold."

"Yeah, when I got injured, he picked me up and carried me. We've been bestest friends ever since. Actually, it started with me telling him a really gross joke and making him laugh, finally, after years of having no joy in his life."

"Ah, I see," he nods.

"Want to hear it, the joke I told him?"

"Uh, sure, let's hear it," Martha agreed, hugging Jubilee, followed by her foster dad.

"You being one, I'm sure you know how bad it can be for your kids, you know to buy a gift for you on your birthday or at Chiasmas, well my papa is no exception. But one, Chiasmas, I got him the perfect gift. I got him a bread maker! And boy did he love it! He loves fresh bread; he could live off of it. The worst part of it all is he's greedy, he hardly ever shared with me, and I got him the bread maker. But you know what; he got what was coming to him. After about a month of using it, not only did he get fat, but he also got himself a really bad yeast infection to go with it!" Morph started laughing as the groans of the gross punchline made them also laugh along with him too.

"Ohh, ha, ha, ha oh, ha, ha, that was a, ha, ha, ha, oh that was a gross but a really good one."

Martha was laughing too, "Guys don't get them though that's the best part of it, just girls can get them."

"Chuckling too, "I bet Beast would beg to differ on that, right, Morph?"

"Oh so true."

"Well, I guess if you were on heavy antibiotics then maybe, but I'd hate to think…" Martha ponders the idea, knowing having experienced a few, how terrible it can be to get or have one and what it would be like if a male got one.

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, so would I, yikes. Not a pretty picture, itching scratching, and an embarrassing inexpiable need to dance in a strange embarrassing way, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee!"

"I'm sure," Jubilee's foster dad agreed. "You sure got an interesting laugh, uh…"

"Call me, Morph, everyone else does."

 _Namely, because no one knows his actual name._ "Tell him he can go by his first name here. We're not very formal here."

"If you guys were, I'd be going by my surname, now, wouldn't I?" He chuckles.

"Well, that's true enough. It's certainly a different laugh you have, you sure don't hear it too often," Martha says.

"Well, I like his laugh. Now you just got to hope your potential girlfriend likes your laugh too."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure she does, since she's laughed at a few of my corny jokes and smiles a lot at me. She hasn't said anything bad about the way I laugh, so I think we're good there."

"Actually, maybe we are pretty formal here, so you have to tell me your surname, I insist."

"Hee, hee, forget it, you're not getting my first name, or my last name until I'm darn good and ready to tell you."

"Which would be when?"

"When I'm ready; when the time is right to tell you."

Wondering how long that might take, if at all, asked, "How about a date?"

"Gee, I thought you'd never ask. It's a little forward, but then again so am I, but I thought this was one we're on."

Exasperated she could just hit her head with her hand a few times! "Ohh, come on‼ Gee!"

"You want a date with me? You can have one with me. Just have to ask. You don't have to beg. Sure, I'll gladly go out on a date with you, Jubilee."

Though the idea was innovative and very tempting and frankly, she would have said yes, but there was one nagging thing, stopping her, or 2. "What about your girlfriend, won't she be jealous?"

"She isn't my girlfriend, yet, so she's got nothing to be jealous of, besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her, and it would be a platonic fun date if I go out with you. Not a romantic one. So neither of you has to worry. We can go see a movie and even a chic flic if a comedy doesn't appeal to you; and maybe a shopping trip, if you've forgotten a few things, like I have, to buy."

"Well still as much as that does sound temptingly fun, I still don't feel right about you going out on a date with me, when you have a potential girlfriend, and I got a dream boyfriend and man to marry, God gave me a dream about."

"Then why did you ask for a date with me then?"

"I mean a date, as in a time or a date when you might actually get around to telling me and for that matter the others your actual name, instead of you going by your codename, Morph, all the time."

"Oh, you should have just said so."

She sighed as she looked up and rolled her eyes and shook her head. He could just be so darn silly cute when he wanted to be. She knew he knew exactly what she had meant. All along. He was just being cute and playing dumb. "So will you tell me it, or when I might expect to find out?"

"I don't know, I don't feel too safe about it yet, to tell anyone. I told you, they threatened to kill me, and considering their powers, it is a possibility, especially combined. Besides, I don't feel like spending any more time over at Muir Island recovering. I had enough of that place to last a lifetime. If it weren't for you I would have never had made it out of there in one piece, or gotten better. Let alone make it through the first month or rather months; alive. That was hell, for me, with zero contact, just to assess how so-called dangerous I was."

He had told her before how much it meant to him all those letters and how he appreciated those phone calls and video chats. The first time he stealthily had escaped Muir Island Treatment Center to try to make contact, with someone, preferably Logan. During his one month of solitude and no contact, he went into town, to call for help, to get him out of there. Morph looked like an absolute wreck, far worse than when he had left to get help. So Jubilee gladly talked to him for hours on the phone in the middle of the night. She had got up to use the washroom and heard the phone ringing, and with no one there, with the others all out on a mission answered it. She was pleasantly surprised to hear Morph's voice, as upset and shattered sounding as it was, and broken up from crying, obviously.

She was even more shocked when she switched it over to video chat, via the video phone they had, and his cell phone, he took back from the storage locker. As soon as she saw Morph's face, that weary, ragged, shattered, face, of a man, who had lost nearly all hope, she just cried, wondering what they did to him! He was so desperate for human or mutant contact he was going more crazier and stir-crazy, and getting more sicker than when he had first arrived there! So why on earth would they put him through all that hell? Was it just to make him suffer even more to his already shattered and still vulnerable psyche? Or perhaps it was to punish him further if you will, for something that he was not fully responsible for doing, and wreak even more trouble on his fragile mental health? Because it was just so blatantly obvious, what the solitude was doing to him, far more harm than good. Not to mention an outgoing extrovert person like Morph would not be able to handle it well at all compared to a shy or an introvert person.

So she gave him 2 of the best pieces of advice, to just leave, do what you have to do to get out of there, and leave. Or if you have to stay, stand up for yourself, assert yourself, and fight, literally, if you have to, to let them know this zero contact thing is making you more sicker, and if it doesn't stop, you won't be held responsible for your actions. If that doesn't work, refer back to idea number one, and get the hell out of there! Call me if you need to, day or night, and I'll come, or meet you wherever, and get you and take you home or to anywhere you want to go. Or use your powers if you can and fly back here or just go someplace else.

The next call she had received from him almost 3 weeks later was to say that he was now finally making some good progress towards his full healing. Morph said he had very much enjoyed his time out of the Treatment Center and when they finally did find him, almost two weeks later, as per Jubilee's advice he let them all have it! He had taken her advice and he had stood up for himself. He had told them all that he was willing to give anyone who stood in his way of his mental health, a couple of black eyes, a few missing teeth, and broken bones to deal with, if they did not help him and stop all this zero contact nonsense that was causing him more harm than good! He had even warned Moira that this no contact gig was making him more nuttier than crunchy peanut butter. He warned her if it continued on, there would be hell to pay, for making him sicker, rather than helping him to get well, which is why he agreed to come here for in the first place!

However, he never mentioned it to Jubilee, as to not worry her, the one other big threat he had given to Moira, that day. It was his trump card, and he played it. It was if this does not stop soon, I will kill myself, I'm suicidal, because of this no contact, and I can't handle it anymore. You have taken away all my freedom, and have taken away all contact with the people I love and care about, and, I just cannot handle it anymore, so I will kill myself if this does not stop now! I will kill myself, one way or another, be it with my powers, or some other way. So end it all now, before I do end my life.

Moira did agree that he had looked much better when he was found and did know and could see that he wasn't making any sort of progress towards getting better. Morph was right; the zero contact was causing him more harm than good. In fact, she agreed with him, he was indeed heading down a very gravely dangerous deadly path, if this continues on.

Moira was so proud of Morph as she hugged him tightly, for admitting it to her, that he was suicidal, so he could get the help he needed. However, her hands were tied in the matter, she had been sworn into a contract, concerning the zero contact with anyone, and she couldn't get out of it, yet. Even if he was the one who broke it. There were a minimum 2 months he had to be observed, preferably 4, but she knew how close he was to the edge, she had seen it all before, he was nearly there. So as to make it seem less confining, she did lax it in the way that would be agreeable to the contract she had signed, and to give Morph the freedom he needed.

Namely, if he promises that there would be no violence from him, she could lift it, in a way. So he would be allowed to go outside a few times a day with full supervision. He could walk around the permitted areas, as long as there was a nurse with him at all times, with exception of him using the washroom, but the door could only be closed most of the way but not be fully closed let alone locked. That way he was not be cooped up in his room like he was, being observed, via the video cameras, but was still being observed, in a safer manner as well as healthier one. If he did well then that would lax, some more, and he could then spend some time outside, all by himself, if he progressed in getting well. Then afterward he could then be able to finally freely call and write, whenever and whoever he liked. That was when the real greater progress had shown 4 months later; especially after Scott and Logan came to see him and how well he was doing.

Jubilee had to wonder in times past about it, why there was a zero contact in the first place and heavily suspected that Scott was the culprit behind the zero contact rule; for at least two months, to be observed. However, she could not prove it; and anyhow, what good would it all do now, to drag it up? Unless Morph cared to let Scott have it, if she did suspect it right, and it was indeed Scott. So Jubilee hugged him tightly, "You're very welcome; that's what good friends do, help each other out. I'm so glad you made it and you're all better now and back home. But I also really don't think you're in much danger now, enough time has passed, so they shouldn't still be ticked off at you, over that silly little prank accident, to still threaten to kill you, or go through with it. I think you're safe especially since we all know what Lorna and Alex look like, so we can all be on the lookout for them, and protect you from them if they do try anything."

"Hmm, well, true enough."

"Please, can you tell me your name?"

"I'll think about it."

"Just remember, I got you back," showing the control she had learned by sparking her powers in her hands on each fingertip, like burning candles, and no more. "If they ever try to hurt you and I'm around, they'll live to regret it, if I let them live that long." She was afraid of what her powers could really do, namely hurting and worse, killing someone, so she held back and never knew the full extent or potential of them. But who could blame her for that? No one liked the idea of killing someone. No one would probably let her do what she wanted to do, which was to test them out fully, on her own, in the Danger Room, not after what happened when she first came to the Xavier School. She had been banned from going in there unless she was in a training session with one of the seniors in the school. Even then, it wouldn't do her much good, she still wouldn't be able to do what she wanted and needed to try to do with them. Push her powers, and try to break through, to find out to what extent she could use them.

Yes, Morph knew they never gave the young X-Woman much credit for her powers, or what she could really do with them, so she held back a lot. However, Morph knew that she could very well be quite downright dangerous, and fact stated, deadly, with them. Especially if she got angry, "And I got yours if anyone dares to try to hurt you in any way when I'm around, BFF's," hugging her warmly.

"So you're Morph, the X-Man that Jubilee told us all about, that was going through hell just to get back to a normal state of mind? She told us pretty much what had happened to you, from what she knew had happened. Split personally because of a mind-control?" Morph nodded, yes, that was about it. He looked sympathetically concerned for him and asked. "Are you all right now?"

Morph smiled at the older man and nodded. _So Jubilee told them all about me, wow, guess she really does care and missed me. If she hadn't, she never would have even mentioned it to her foster parents._ "Yeah that's me, and thanks be to God and Jubilee, I'm 100% fine and fully sane again. But if it weren't for God and Jubilee, I know I wouldn't have gotten through it all in one piece if at all, let along alive, it wasn't for all her help. Jubilation, Jubilee like her name has brought me a lot of joy, and life, to me, she, in fact, saved my life, through all her help and letters, and calls, she helped me so much I…" Morph gasped and stood there shocked and stunned as he gasped again as he shudders as a big realization hit him so hard, so much so, that he nearly tears right over. He was wrong, so very, very; wrong, he was wrong, about everything he had thought about her, of course, that's why. As he smiled inwardly, he was wrong, and he was never happier to be so wrong about something.

"You okay, Morph? You looked freaked right out for some reason."

"Huh yeah more than fine, just shocked at what I just said. I just realized something, I hadn't considered, earlier, about you. Don't worry, it's all good." _Maybe she is right about all that, I'm not really in much danger now, to worry who knows my name, so maybe I should tell her. It's gonna be so weird for me to be called by my name, I'm so used to Morph, heh, of course as soon as I go home, that's what I will be called, of course. Still, I have to; I need to be, sure, of one or two things, before I will tell her._

"Oh, okay, good then. But you look like you're about ready to cry, for some reason."

"If I do, they will be happy tears," hugging her tightly again, shaking a bit. "Thank you, so much. I don't think you really understand how you helped me out. How you saved me."

"Well, you're so welcome, Morph, anytime. Are you sure, you're all right? You're shaking."

"I'm just so happy I was wrong about something. I'm so happy about that, that I was wrong, about what I had thought, because it was upsetting me. But I realized I'm wrong about what I had thought and suspected, so I'm glad about that; because it's making me happy."

"Oh-key, well, as long as you're really okay."

He lightly nods with a smile, "I will be."

"Well, I'm sure looking forward to the time I'll get to spend with you, Jubilee, and us making some memories."

"So am I, and to get out of the Mansion and have some fun and adventure, in the great outdoors with you, mom." She was still getting used to calling them mom and dad, even if they insisted she does so. She was only still fostered by them and not actually adopted, so she didn't quite feel that okay with it, calling them mom and dad, just yet, but was getting more at ease with it.

"Speaking of which, did you come here to check out or see the surprise we have for you, or just to make sure your mom is packed and ready for the trip?"

"I didn't hear anything about a surprise. If there was a message for me, I never got it yet. Well, I did also realize and wanted to check in to make sure you were ready or getting ready for the trip too. But actually, I was mostly here more for Morph; we got to talking about things and I kind of mentioned we had a hot tub, and one day I might let him have a soak in it. So I figured it might as well be today; since he was so sweet to agree to take me out shopping. In the meantime, I could check to make sure you got everything or were getting everything needed for the retreat. Thanks again, Morph, for the shopping trip, I appreciate it, so much."

"Hey, no prob, I like spending my time with you, and I needed to get some clothes and things as much as you did, as well as take my car for a run. As for the other, I still could still go with you, you know. Hey, maybe I'll find my soulmate there. You never know."

"No, don't do that that would be so awkward, even if you did do that, knowing that it is you, in disguise. Rain cheque, I told you, I mean it, okay, we'll go later, maybe all four of us together, to the same spot. If you're really that desperate to go camping with me."

"All right, but I'll hold you to that. So, may we? I got; something; to put on, so don't worry."

"Sure thing, and while we all have a soak together we can tell Jubilee what her big surprise is. Hopefully, she will say yes."

"Yes to what?"

"You'll find out real soon, sweetheart," he said kissing her forehead, eyes shimmering with a beaming proud joy. "Make sure you rinse off your feet with the hose outside, before getting in the hot tub, Morph," was the last thing he said before he headed upstarts. It was off to go upstairs to their bedroom, to put the finishing details on Jubilee's big surprise; it was what they were doing before they finally came down. Well, as well as possibly celebrating in their own way when Jubilee comes here, or before she comes here, but obviously, they were interrupted.

Meanwhile, Martha showed Morph where the hot tub is located outside. "Come on, I'll show you where the hot tub is and the hose." What's the matter?" Spotting that look on his face, eyebrows furrowed and biting his lip. It looked like something was bothering him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just have to go pee really badly; I got a bad urge to go, you know, that's all."

"Oh, okay, perfect then, just make sure you shower off after you finish. That's one of the rules if Jubilee didn't mention it to you, that you use the toilet, and take a shower before getting into the hot tub as well as rinsing your feet off before getting into it. The hot tub is right out here and the hose and outside tap is right over there. So just turn it on a bit and rinse off your feet, to get the rocks and sand or dirt off before getting in." She walked back in, with Morph following, "The bathroom is right there."

"Thanks."


	12. Dog Hater Dog Lover? And A Girlfriend?

**_Dog Hater. Dog Lover? And A Girlfriend?_**

AN: The title is a bit of a warning, hope any dog lovers out there can get through reading it all, all right. Or at least come out of reading it with a better perspective. If you are like me and hate dogs too, well, I'm sure you will love and can side with the views I express in this chapter. It's also, why it took so long to get done. These kinds of honest opinions, do take a long time to get published and polished up, just right, for the public. It's hard you know. Fun chapters, do go fun, fast, and flow easily. Hard chapters are, well, hard. So I hope I don't lose a few fans out there because of it because I expressed some of my honest views. A lot of the things I wrote about in this chapter has happened to people and are true or are based solely or loosely just a bit on things that I have, read, or have happened in the real world. Well, all except for the thing that happened to Jubilee, although maybe it has happened to a foster kid, you never know. Please, all I ask is you keep, an open mind when you read it. Thanks!

X-Men TAS:

Jubilee had headed upstairs to her room to change into her swimsuit and have a quick shower, as she had a shower already this morning, before rinsing off her feet and getting into the hot tub. She was already relaxing in the hot tub for a few minutes before Morph came out and joined her. In that time, she had a few revelations, when she heard a nasty sniffing sound from next-door.

Jubilee ignored it, at first, it could just be the wind, or maybe something else, and paid no mind to what she hoped, it wasn't. As much as she hated them, dogs, she couldn't let her hatred of them get the better of her. She could tend to blow-up when it came to them, after all. Besides, she was relaxing, and she could ignore it, if, that was what it was, making that nasty noise, that big nasty dog, next-door.

Even though Jubilee hated everything about them, including, _that_ , sound, too, or for that matter any sound that dogs made, especially barking. Still, maybe the cops or AC had finally got rid of it, or maybe it was just a cat, or maybe they got rid of that nasty evil one for a smaller one. Six to one, half a dozen, or the other. As much as she hated all dogs, a smaller one would still be less trouble, a yapper, which would be just as bad in its own way, but at least, it would be far less if not, not at all, dangerous like that big one they had, or still have.

She shook her head, regardless, she guessed that no doubt, Morph was the type who loves dogs, and he, like just about everyone else; would go gaga over it; as soon as he found out they had one. So she determined to keep quiet about her hatred of everything about them; or risk losing a friend over it, more than likely.

Oh, such was the fate of most to all dog haters such as herself, no one who was a dog lover it seemed, at least to her, could understand that, what one could go through being one. Being one made you lose a lot, namely friends, respect, health, sanity, family even, or people whom you had considered your family. At least in her case, that was the case. There had been 2 families, not including the X-Men, which had gotten rid of her, all because she hated dogs, and would not conform, or change her views, or ways, on her hatred of dogs. So, they got rid of her and chose to get a dog, over her, keeping her. That's what hurt the most, people whom you had thought loved you, didn't love you, and chose, an animal, over a child; they were the worse scum on the face of the Earth! Oh, yes, she could have lied to them, and said that she was allergic, and or very fearful of them, hence why she didn't like any dogs. Even so, Jubilation probably could, safely bet on it, though, that they would have still gotten rid of her, (especially if they found out she had lied) and still chose a dog over a child!

She had even read online about one parent not caring about his child, yes, his flesh and blood child, her mother indifferent, it seemed, but the father, deserved to be jailed, for what he did to his kid. He cared more about keeping the damn accursed dog than care about the health and well-being of his own child. He was making his kid suffer for it; it seemed, even on purpose, the narcissistic cretin! He didn't give a care about the dog-induced allergies making his daughter suffer. He was making her have to look after his dog, that he wouldn't bother looking after, rather than believe her, or bother to take her to the doctor, to at least, oh, I don't know, get her checked out or at least get some pills or something to help with the problem, rather than get rid of the damn thing, jerk!

One mutant, however, he had almost killed her after finding out of her strong hatred of dogs, as it all flooded back to her, suddenly, as the dog barked loudly, her memories came back! Being a foster care child, and or an orphan, Jubilation was pretty much very much disposable, with things like this. It seemed one mutant though almost did succeed in getting rid of her, almost permanently, just about like some other mutant. Yeah, not that Jubilation was holding any grudges or anything, oh no, drip, drip, sarcasm, drip, drip, drop.

Dog haters were constantly berated for hating what most considered the best animal to grace the Earth. But like all dog haters, she knew the truth; it set her free, it made wiser than most, as she could see what dog lovers truly were, stupid, crazy, usually a little or a lot evil, demented, slow, or at least narcissistic, conniving, vile scum, or any combination of many of the already above stated, and unstated ones. Though the doggers as they were all called by her fellow dog haters, thought the same of her.

After all, just because she had expressed her hatred for them, it automatically deemed her as a monster; she was evil for hating them. She had her reasons, she'd seen and heard what those mutants; and they gave mutants a bad name, ironically, did to people. They killed people, mauled, hurt, bit, they destroyed things, and families, just plainly wrecked things, and stink all the time. Worse of all was, people defended their dog's actions, and worse, tried to justify them, saying that's just what dogs do. They put the dog, first, over anyone, and anything, even a child, caring more what had, or will happen, to a dog, rather than, a child, or another human, or mutant being. Especially after the person, especially a little child, - let's not forget little Kevin who is now in obscurity, overthrown by the 'cute Pitbull' who nearly bit his face off, AKA Mickey the Mauler, who they care more about saving rather than a child, - is attacked by their dog/s. They're gonna kill my fur baby, who cares about the dumb child, s/he got what was coming to them, but help me please; they're coming to kill my baby doggie!

Some doggers did get better, however, a little bit of buyer's remorse if you will. Usually, it came after experiencing, the horrid, atrocities, and the all the nuisances, the loss of freedom, to come and go as you please; which inevitably came with having to deal with having a dog. But still, for a lot of that majority, most were still pretty stupid; they were still in their dogger mindset, still, though were slowly stepping into the light. But they still were unwise as they still keep it around until it croaks, rather than grabbing a brain, to get rid of that nuisance, right away, after realizing their huge mistake. Even if the rest of the family whined, it was still better for the sake of the health and the peace of the family, to just get rid of it. Don't let them say goodbye to it, just get rid of it, back to where you got it from, no questions asked. And the sooner you get rid of it, the better. You know, before they become more attached to it than they already are. Even if that means, dropping it off there at night, or when the spouse is at work and the kid/s is/are at school. Get rid of the dog in any way you see fit, to get rid of it. Why keep it longer than necessary, unless, maybe, they just wanted to keep it, to punish himself, or herself, for being so stupid in getting it in the first place. But usually, it was the other way around. The rest of the family wants it, and to keep it, while someone has to suffer for it, who didn't want it in the first place or now doesn't want it anymore. It shouldn't have to be like that.

Shouldn't have gotten the damn dog in the first place, to be put in such a situation, in the first place, sigh! That is why that was one of the top things she had put on her list, right under him being a mature true born-again believer, still a virgin, and not had his first kiss yet; he has to be a big dog hater like herself. Her husband has to be a dog hater too, and be able to put his food down, alongside hers, when the kids ask for a dog, and never let them have one, ever, period. Perhaps teach their kids a little fear, and hatred, of all dogs, for that is what's good for them, yes, to learn all that very early on in life after all; you know, before it turns tragic. Because it's always a big safety issue, and let's face it, haters are going to hate. Better to prepare them for the world early while they have a fighting chance to build up their strength and endurance for the harsh bitter reality out there, in the real world.

Because dog haters are always deemed to be, the devil incarnate, and the dog lovers, proving their insanity, would verbally express just how they would hurt and harm them, and yes, even kill a dog hater. Oh, and for what? Just for hating on dogs, and saying 'bad' (but truthful) things about their beloved pooch/s! How stupid and ironic is that! But no one ever talks about it, jailing the dog lovers for what they say or even attempt or do, or do to dog haters, with their threatening, giving out very life-threatening threats. Or their atrocious crimes against humanity, just as bad, or worse, than the F.O.H. Like, letting a dog bark all day and or night long, or just early in the morning, driving you insane, for a loss of a good night's sleep. Let's not forget the safety issues and or mistakes that will cause at work. Or like this one, who is probably no doubt a mauler just like Mickey, and or at least just vicious, and makes her feel unsafe in her own home, well, a foster home in her case, let alone want to go back here for visits.

There were a few who let her have her well-founded opinions, and still be in good graces with her, and could even agree on some points, and still like their mutts. There were some dog owners who were good owners, which walked their dog, took good care of them, and kids if they had any, obeyed the leash laws, didn't allow their dog to be a nuisance, not allowing it to bark at all hours, and crap everywhere, they picked up after it. But sadly, they were few and far between, she only met a handful, not even that. Jubilation could count the number on her hand, and still be able to make a rude gesture. Usually, maybe 1 out of 20 dog owners would be what she regarded as a good dog owner. Still, for the vast majority, however, most were total assholes. Just like one dickhead proved to be, that fateful day, he found out of her hatred of all things dog.

***Flashback***

She already lost respect, with Scott; really, it was on both sides. For him, it was all because she didn't like them, and she had proven him wrong, at every step he took to defend them. As well as for her being a hater of them. For her, it was what he had said, and had done to her; because he couldn't admit that he was wrong. Or at least agree to disagree and be civil about it. Scott had proved that he could be as disgusting as any other dog lover she had ever come across. Throwing a fit, to defend their beloved puke-inducing pooch; that would so gladly lap up all that puke. He was also a disgustingly, prejudice, mutant, so it seemed. Jubilee was so glad she had also put that on the list, her husband can't be prejudice. Her husband had to understand it really is only skin-deep, and it's what or Who is on the inside that counts.

It all started innocently enough in passing by comment Scott had made. Conveniently enough, though, they were also pretty much alone too, at least as far as privacy was concerned anyhow, before Scott approached her, and broached the subject. It should have been her first clue, something was up, when he said what he did, and was coming to her in private to say/mention it. She now realized it. He damn well knew that rule, and he knew exactly what he was doing, or was trying to do, was wrong. Hence, why he was doing what he was doing on the sly. Now it all made sense to her in hindsight.

"I wish we could get a big dog for the Mansion. They are so loyal, and having a few dogs, to guard the Mansion would be a big help, to protect it, when we are out on missions, to keep the place safe." He had figured that since she is such a sweet girl and all girly, loves hugs and cuddles type; she would go all for it and say yes to the idea. Therefore getting more X-Men onboard for the idea. It was a bit of mutiny idea, especially since he was going against the rules, he knew. However, some X-Men had a bit of sway, some sort of influence, and could; therefore; help him; by influencing all the others to get onboard to the idea. To then get the Professor onboard to the idea, and say yes, despite the rules he had in place. It wasn't the first time Scott had tried this idea out; he had once before but on a different X-Man. It too backlashed on him, badly. It would work with Jubilee though, for sure, to get her right onboard for the idea. Right?

Wrong. The others would wholeheartedly agree with not only her arguments and rebuttals. But especially the Professor's rules. "Oh, really, so what am I here chopped liver?! You seem to make me stay here, to look after the place. So what are you calling me, a dog, you filthy fleabag loving freak?!"

Taken aback, he looked around worriedly for her yelling, in case anyone had heard it, or would come to find out what's going on. "No. What are you on your period or something? What's with the blow-up?"

Admittedly, yes, she was on her period, and the outburst was maybe just a bit over the top, but she was justified in turning it all against him. She was nearly always left behind to keep the place safe and to tend to things. So she was within her right to turn it all back on him like that. Plus even if she weren't, extra sensitive, having her time of the month, she still probably would have done or said the same things she had that day. To her, a dog, both the animal and the word, in any manner shape or form, was a big insult to her. "Maybe, I am," was all she could say to Scott's question. "Besides, we can't ever get one, so there!" Sticking her tongue out at him, hoping that was the end of that, subject!

But he went on and argued his case with her to try to get her on his side about it. "Oh, really, why not, we need a dog. Besides, they're so loyal and cute, and they can…"

"No, we don't! They're butt-ugly, smelly, useless, loud, disgusting, stupid, and greedy, and so not loyal, every last one of them. Need I remind you, the school has a big rule about no pets? Oh, and about the loyalty thing, your theory is so dead wrong! It's a well-founded myth that dogs are loyal. The only thing dogs are loyal to: is their food source, AKA, you. I would be happy to prove you wrong, and this true. They are not loyal; they are food-driven; loyal to whoever feeds them. Heck, they even got a dog to be so-called loyal to a robot that fed it. Just goes to show you how **_really_** loyal they truly are. You can feed a dog who is so-called loyal to a family, a piece of hamburger, and yes, even a guide dog. I can guarantee that if you show it some food and toss it in your car, he, or she, would be happy to hop into the backseat of your car, and happily slobber you to death. Right after it gobbles up the food while begging for more, as it excitedly pisses and craps all over your car. Oh, car ride; let me show you how happy I am that you fed me, and took me for a ride! Nice. Meanwhile, you take it halfway across the world, where it will quickly forget all about its so-called family, it's loyal to."

"That is so not…"

But she continued at him, in her rant, not giving him a chance to dispute, or to disprove her, or the facts. As if, he could, because she could out prove him in an instant. "Hey, Cyke; here's a fun idea, why don't you see for yourself, just how loyal your precious pooch would be, when you starve it for 3 days. Then see how it reacts to you when you finally go check on it, or go let it out, or to actually take it for a walk. When it tries to; or does; bite your face off, just how loyal it really is!" It wasn't cruelty as much as reality for the next lineup of head-whacking realty she was giving to their leader.

"How…" He was going to try to get after her for being so verbally cruel to a dog, and accuse her unjustly of abusing and killing them.

He would be wrong to even assume that. She hates them, yes, but she wouldn't go hurt them, unless it was in self-defense, or to protect herself, where therein it would be in her right to do so. She wouldn't go out to purposely hurt those damn creatures, even if she easily could with her powers. So Jubilee went on at him about it, before she let Scott have a chance to speak in defense of dogs or go at her about it what she said. But also, why she said what she did, without even batting an eye, to think about it, as she truthfully told him, the bitter reality. It was a bitter fact and pill for Scott to swallow, and why the rule the Professor has in place. "Because, let's face it, Scott, on some missions, all of us, the full team, yes, including the Professor, will be required to go out on it. So, who knows, how long, we will be out there, and doing whatever; before we do get back home. Heck, even the average mission can last well over 12 hours. So, who will be here to look after the pooch or pooches then, huh, to let them out, or to feed them? Got an answer for that one, bucko?"

"But…we can get a doggie door." He was going to try for the doggie door defense, but that would prove nothing.

Jubilee easily countered as she could easily whack that right back at him. "Oh really now, gee I thought you said that you wanted to get the dog or dogs for guarding the Mansion. So having a doggie door would breach the security, we already have in place, just so that they could go in and out, as they need or please. Therefore, causing a vulnerability in the security system, that anyone with half a brain, and a small frame could easily take advantage of." Scott gave her a very confused look trying to figure it out. It only made her smirk; figuring Scott doesn't even have half a brain by the looks of things. She went at him more, to berate him and his love of dogs. "No, forget it, Cyke, not going to happen, so just drop it and give it up already. What are you trying to do cause a mutant mutiny around here, trying to break the rules, huh?" She pegged him right on. "What about Jean, huh, ain't getting enough love and companionship from your relationship with your girlfriend Jean? A fellow human, oh sorry, a mutant human being, that you have to go cause a mutant mutiny around here, just to get a dog, or rather a fur slave?"

"What, no, I just wanted to get a dog, because of the companionship."

"Duh! That's what I just said! So it is true, you are choosing a dog, a dog, over a fellow human or mutant being! You are so asinine and backwards, that you care more about dogs over us! Oh wait, I know what you want, you want someone or rather, something, to worship you, that's what you want, a dog, or rather a little god because you want to be the one who is worshiped and revered. You're just a big sicko, a sick Satanist moron!" Though Jubilee wasn't saved at this point in her life, even she knew what Scott was doing and or saying was dead wrong. She felt so betrayed by Scott, and so sick to her stomach. It was just like those 2 other families, which had given her back up to the system, all because she hated dogs; all over again. What was Scott going to do to her now, shove her back into the arms of her foster family, the only one who actually cared for her? Bastard! The X-Men were her family, now, yes just as much as her foster family, the X-Men probably more. Now she knew how Morph must have felt, when he was abandoned, by the same vile mutant here, talking to her. Because that's exactly what it felt like to her, Scott abandoning her, and for that matter, the whole rest of the team, Morph included. Her righteous indignation flared up now to let him have it! "You want that, you want to live that lie, that so-called life, that corrupt life, and lie and get a dog, so darn badly," she said grimly, then angrily. "Well then, go, just get out of here then‼ Go get a place of your own, and get all the doggies your devil worshiping heart desires‼"

"I am not…"

"You are so! So don't expect me to ever visit you, I hate dogs, keep them away from me! Nor the rest of us! But maybe that's for the best; since you rather be with dogs, anyhow! FYI: Even if your stupid plan did work and the Professor did foolishly give in and he let you get one, no one but _you_ ; will look after them, when we go out on a mission, and you're the leader. So what then, huh, who would look after them if we did get one or several, huh, got an answer for that one? Oh, wait, I take that back, ha, ha, ha, of course, what was I thinking," Scott smiled monetarily before Jubilee let him have it yet again. "You would get the dog, or dogs, and pawn it off on us, to take care of and deal with, and forget all the responsibility, that it is your dog or dogs, while we do all the hard work, for you‼ So forget it! That's **_exactly_** why the Professor will never ever let neither, you, nor anyone else here, ever, get one! Especially a damn dog! So there! End of stupid disgusting discussion! You are nothing but a jerk!"

"Excuse me, Jubilation, but if I get a dog, I will take care of it."

Jubilee scoffs at Scott shaking her head, she'd believe it when she saw it, and how well trained it would be. But in reality, Jubilee knew better because she knew the end cause was, no. "Yeah, right, that's what they **_all_** say. You're no different from a 5-year-old wanting a puppy. Happy to play with it, but leaves all the responsibility to someone else, namely mom and dad, usually mom. So face the facts, Cyke, you can't get one, all because someone needs to look after it, and it sure ain't gonna be me. So who's going to let it out, feed it, and train it, huh, when we're gone on a mission? Oh, and don't even ask me, I won't do it. Even if you paid me, I still won't. If I'm even still around that is! Since I'd much rather leave rather than live here with a dog, you had to have!"

Scott shook his head, unbelievable, but rose to the defense; he could still get one and still take care of it, here, with no problems. "It will be fine to have one here because the Professor hardly ever goes out on missions, so he can take care of them and walk…"

"Oh, really. Even if the Professor does stay, do you really think he can or will be able to walk the dog or dogs…. When maybe, oh, I don't know, he can't walk, and has to monitor, us?! You are such an insensitive moron‼"

Scott was taken aback by this statement, validity! He was so shock stunned he could only stand there with his mouth agape like a fish out of water. Sputtering, "Uh, unh, uhh, uh…"

"That's exactly **_why_** the Professor has the no pet rule, for that very reason! They are nothing but trouble, we don't need, not to mention a big distraction to what we are doing. Not to mention the big messes they will undoubtedly inevitably leave when we leave. Love to come back from a 3-day long mission to the whole Mansion smelling like piss and crap, and torn up and destroyed, all because of those things. That _you_ **_had to get_**! Not to mention having to listen to those fartknockers barking their butts off as soon as you get in the door, instant headache, no, forget it!"

"The security…the comp…"

"Companionship, huh, if you're so desperate and can't get enough companionship from all of us then I suggest that you stand out on the street corner, with a Hug Me sign on your chest." She had even given him one, thinking he probably needed it, as he seemed desperate for any contact. However, Scott was as cold as a dead fish and did not look a bit happy and still angry after it. "Because you seem to have a problem! As outgoing as I am, even I feel a bit too cooped up with everyone here. As far as the security, we sure don't need any dog to look after the place! What the heck are you thinking, anyhow, Scott?! Hello?! We have topnotch security here to rival Fort Knox, so; only a fool would ever rely on a food-driven animal for security. Psh, need I mention, Wolverine?!"

So, therefore, with her big steam letting off rant, Jubilee had just proved Scott's complete and utter stupidity, and what a dog nutter, and dare she even think; or believe it. A dog worshiper, he is, to even think about breaking the no pet rule the Professor has. Especially considering what a Boy Scout Scott is. So what was Jubilation's reward, you ask? Was it, Scott Summers willing to admit, defeat, and or saying, you are right, and or thanks for the reminder? No, Scott had then after seething a few seconds proved to Jubilee, to be exactly what he loved the most, a dog, a dog loving, and worshiping, idiot, fool. A mean nasty ill-tempered and probably narcissistic dog lover, just like pretty much every dog lover Jubilee had ever met before.

They would rather defend, vehemently, their dogs. Trying to justify every little thing that they do that is wrong and or socially unacceptable, than ever dare admit it, that they the owner are wrong, or Heaven forbid the dog/s is/are in the wrong. They would rather bow before their all-powerful god the dog, even at the risk of going to jail or an even worse sentence, than ever dare admit it, that their canine is evil and wrong, and or it is, their fault too, for it, whatever happened.

The typical tragic example of this would be… Oh no! Fido bit our little baby! Why? Was all because our baby had, oh, I don't know, maybe squealed out happily and cooed at doggy? Yes. No. It was really, all because baby had tried to 'take its bone away' (that's why there is no bone, baby hid it or ate it) or it moved the wrong way, and the dog didn't like it, and so, it snapped, literally, in both senses of the word. All when mommy and daddy weren't even looking after their baby. After all, they were both leaving it all in good paws, of their 'nanny dog's' good care. So what could ever even possibly go wrong with that idea? Oh, I don't know; maybe a mangled and or dead baby or child?!

When the hell did it all change, she wondered? Why, why; why did they care more about dogs than their fellow humans or mutants? It used to be that if a dog ever acted viciously, or attacked, or bit anyone, that it was killed pretty much on the spot, no mercy. As it should be. So, when the hell did that all change? Now all they do is defend their dog/s to the death, it wasn't, isn't, right. To do that. It was a sin in her eyes.

It didn't matter what kind of dog, Scott or anyone else, wanted to get because it usually always ends up the same sob story. Making up excuses and or lies or half-truths, all to cover up their dog's bad doings. All so that they don't get their asses busted and or sent to jail, or better still, face the death sentence, that they do so righty have coming to them for the murder, manslayer, or homicide if it came to that, with the dog attack. Because ultimately, it is, in fact, their, and their dog's fault. In Jubilee's mind the death sentence to the human that had let his or her dog kill, another human, would be a very good just idea. Especially with certain dog breeds that had those tendencies to be more vicious and biters than other dogs. Stupid is as stupid does, anyone who got a dog that had those nasty tendencies and worse didn't take care and precautions to try to prevent someone from being hurt, was so stupid, and deserved the fate of the death sentence awaiting them, for it. Just a few of these human or mutant, death sentences or penalties for allowing their mutts to kill, or attack people and or other pets, included. Or at least a stiff long jail sentence for the latter one. Was a good idea. It would put a huge shockwave throughout the whole community, and the world at large, and it would, therefore, would reduce all bad, and vicious dog types, and breeds, and mixes, to nearly, or nil, with the fear of the death penalty, and or the long jail sentences. She could only dream of a dog-less future or one with very few of them. Her daydream was snapped when Scott had gone after her on the attack. Unbelievable. Typical, dogger!

So finally remembering it, after blocking/blacking it out of her mind, probably after blacking out. Now she remembers it all, that day in full. Instead of having to admit defeat, Scott had proven to Jubilee to be exactly what she had thought of most dog owners or lovers. He went on the attack; he had attacked her verbally and nearly physically as he narrowly missed nailing her with his powers, when it was, **_he_** , who was the one in the wrong! This, by the way, is a huge no-no, a rule Scott Summers had clearly broken when he had nearly hit her with his powers! Not once, but 3 times, in succession! Scott wasn't acting like a friend; he was acting like a dog! So Jubilee lost quite a lot of respect when Scott yelled at her, and he called her a few derogatory terms and had even accused her of eating them.

The problem was she had forgotten about all of this, because of what had happened next. Scott had forced her to do intense Danger Room Training; she was not ready, nor prepared, or able to do, at least alone. But thanks be to God was able to endure it all, relatively safely. Although she still didn't know how she was able to protect or defend herself from the entourage of some of those attacks. As Jubilee had up until now, had blocked it all out, a lot of it, or something in there had caused her to have amnesia. If that was the case, then more than likely that dog-next-door had triggered her memories.

Now remembering everything except for exactly how she protected herself. Still, whatever had happened in there, it was as if Scott wasn't even there a lot of the time, it had seemed like, with quite a lot of those attacks. Unless it was really God. This so-called 'Danger Room Training Session' went on until she was dead exhausted and had 'learned how to respect her teammates; and to conform to the rest of the team' Scott had berated at her. Before very roughly shoving her in there and locking the doors on her, before he let her out. She could hardly make it in and out of the bathroom before she had hit her pillow and was out for a good 10 to 12 hours, a big bloodstain on her bed because she had slept for so long and couldn't get up to change her pad.

"You're acting just like Morph does, nothing but a disgusting little disobedient un-conforming little chink freak!"

Scott's words echoed loudly in her head as she came out of the memory. It was one of the many insults he had hurled at her. That ill-fated day. She wondered why. Perhaps maybe…

***Flashback Ends***

That scratching and growling snapped her back to the here and now reality, as it had reminded her sorely of the memory and what she should have done a while ago. Times two, one she should have told on him, for what Scott had said, and done to her, the second one was just as important, if not more so. Why now though did she remember this, there had to be a reason, besides that nasty dog? It had to be God, the Lord. That pang in her heart was all the proof needed, with her memories returning to her, from the amnesia-like state of forgetfulness. She knew what she had to do, she looked up and got the courage and heart motivation to do it. "That's it; I forgive you, totally and fully. Sigh, but I can't do it, I just can't, and I hope this isn't a sin to do so, or say it. But I can't do it, I just can't. I will no longer be able to respect nor trust you, Scott, not for a good long time, if ever again. Not after doing, what you did to me. You lousy good for nothing, traitor," she tears over, "you nearly killed me in there. You're crazier than Morph was when he had a split personality. Huh, and he was **_so_** right when he was still sick, and he told me the first time, not to dare trust you. If Cyclops is capable of leaving a friend and teammate behind, who knows what else he would do. Yeah, you're so right about that, obvious, truth, Morph; especially since now, I too have seen it, his bad side, at least when it comes to those evil filthy abominations. Speaking of which," Jubilee sneers and shakes her head in disgust.

Now, before you judge and sentence her and any other dog hater, like me, out there. Yes, I know I'm breaking the writer's equivalent of the 4th wall here. But you do need to know, she hadn't done anything to that dog, at all. This was before she had joined the X-Men, and had even gotten her powers. Since then, things had only steadily gotten worse for her and her foster family with that dog. Jubilee had even tried to be nice to the vile thing, when she went over to greet the new neighbors, and then had to give it the obligatory, ewww, pat on the head, the dog growled viciously right at her, and snapped a bit at her, much to the chagrin of the owner. Yes, she had gotten permission if it was okay and if it was even safe to go near it, as she was very leery, and a bit freaked out, of the thing, already. Jubilation's instincts had been proven right. Even despite the fact, the owner insisted before she had even asked that, and more so, after. "You can pet my cute pooch. Oh, he is just the sweetest Pitbull ever. He would never ever hurt anyone. So please go ahead and pet him, I insist, he loves it, he's a big baby." Yeah right; Jubilation should have remembered, and known better. That every one of them; should always, always, be deemed, unsafe, and untrustworthy, as most dogs are, and as it so had been proven true. Especially with those kinds of dogs specifically. Ever since then, it was just nasty and ill-tempered to her, whenever she visited or stayed with her foster parents.

"You dumb dog, you had better stay in that yard, if you know what's good for you; and get‼" She had on a few occasions scared it off by blasting her powers into the sky near the fence, just as she had done on this occasion. It had seemed to work, hopefully, that it got the message. Their fence was high enough to keep them all safe, even though Jubilation knew better than that, that those types of dogs were far from safe, including their owner. Scott had shown her he was like-minded when it came to that. They were all just as nasty and volatile as those mutant abominations that they harbored. "So much for thinking that Morph was it, he was the one. Huh; no doubt Morph loves them too." Jubilee stewed just a bit, about those abominable animals. How everyone who likes dogs loses all sense. How you could lose a friend or in the case no doubt with Scott, lose respect. Jubilation sighs deeply a few times before letting it go. Her mind flipped back to something nagging her and important. Why did Scott say what he did, about her and Morph? How very odd. Unless maybe… There was no way to know, for sure, unless she asked him about it. But right now, it just wasn't the right time to mention or bringing it up, as they were having a really nice day out together. So why ruin it all with one hating dogs and the other loving them. Not unless it was brought up, or came up on its own, through another means, she would try not to mentation it.

X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS

Morph meanwhile, used the downstairs bathroom, after being shown where the hot tub was out back. He took at least a good 10-minute, or more, shower, to clean off everything after stripping down. After all, with the jet-lag, he had neglected to shower for the past 2-3 days, so he made good use of the soap; before he would dare set one toe in the hot tub. He even washed his 'swim trunks' before putting them on and getting in the hot tub. "Ahhhh, so much better, a happy bladder is an empty one." Morph hummed a bit in the shower and dried off mostly, so he wouldn't leave much or any water drops on his way out as he headed outside.

With the nuisance having left, for now, she was relaxing again in the hot tub when he came out with a towel around his shoulders he was borrowing. His head mostly and some of the rest of his body, was still dripping wet, as she looked him over as he came nearer as he smiled at her. She couldn't help but feel the heat rise to her cheeks, times two, for the yellow Speedo Morph had on, or rather the fact, that he really didn't have it on, she was sure. Not to mention, damn, he looked hot, and cute, and very sexy like that, especially wet, as he came near her, all dripping wet. She looked at him, as he paused before getting in the hot tub with her, to rinse off his feet. Jubilation's mind quickly wandered, as she started fantasizing slightly, as she let her mind wander, to a few dirty thoughts about them. Namely, them cuddling up closely in the hot tub, with her on his lap or maybe the other way around before her foster parents come outside and spot them doing that. Her mind was thinking of them getting closer to each other's faces when. "Hey!" Jubilee sputtered as she came up out of the water after Morph got in and shoved her head down under the hot water, as he placed his hand on her head and hop jumped in the hot tub. "Morph, what the hell?!"

Chuckling having caught her dazed expressions knew what she was probably thinking of and so he quickly snapped her right out of that little fantasy real quick like! "Quit looking, you little pervert!" Morph reacted but still got it. She splashed him, right in the face. "Hey! Don't start something you can't finish here."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, nice Speedo, Morph. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, ha, ha, ha, looks good on you; looks; _really good_ , on you," she nods with a chuckle.

"Quit looking! Keep your eyes on your own side of the road, or, hot tub, you perv." He even felt a bit self-conscious about it enough to place his hands on his lap to casually cover himself up. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of, but still, the looks she gave him, she was checking him out, and what he had down there, he was sure. Normally, he would not have minded too much. Heck, he might have allowed it, even trying to flirt with her about it. But there was a huge problem with that thought and idea now, right now, stopping and preventing that from happening.

"Love your yellow Speedo; yup, it looks really good on you, really, uh… sexy."

"All right that's it." Morph made an adjustment. Along with keeping his manhood between his legs, so he wasn't showing anything off to her. Not that he was trying to, especially now.

"Oh, aw, come on. Yellow swim shorts, really?"

"Yeah, much better. But thanks for the compliment. As liberal as I am with my body at times, I think you're a little pervert." Now was a good time as any to drop the big bomb on her. "Besides, I have a girlfriend, you know, and I sure don't think she would appreciate it, too much, you looking at me, in that way. So kindly please, stop it, thank you."

Suddenly the jokiness was over, "Oh, so it's really official…then…she's the one for you?"

"I think so; I'm nearly 100% sure of it now, but of course, I still haven't asked her yet, I've just been crushing on her from afar. Hoping, praying, that she likes me back. So I don't know if she likes me, or rather, loves me back, yet. So I'll have to ask her soon. But I know in my heart she's the one for me, but, still, uh, I could be very wrong. As you know, teenage hormones, and crushes. So I have to ask her, to be mine. She might already have someone else in her heart, she loves."

"But you just said she is your girlfriend."

"I think of her as my girlfriend already, even if she's not officially, yet."

"Wishful thinking?"

"Yeah maybe, more like faith. But what can I say; I'm in love with the girl. Been in love with her for quite a while now. What's worse is I just can't stand it being away from her, it hurts you know, to be away from her."

Lovesickness plain and simple, it explained everything, really, lack of appetite, and even sleep, and him not having the drive left to pull pranks anymore. Especially with him being here in New York and her obviously being at Muir Island. She didn't like it one bit, though, namely that change in him, unless he was trying to change for her. But any girl that could not accept Morph for who he is, pranks and all, was not worth it at all in Jubilee's books. Still, as unhappy for those changes in him, she was happy for him, and could only wait now for her time and a chance to feel that same way. She had, but she wanted it to be stronger than just those measly little schoolgirl crushes she's had; she wanted, **_it_** , the real deal, and a real relationship, not just a weak one-sided one, usually on her part. "Hmm, then I guess it is the real deal if you can't stop thinking of that person, and want to be with that person, all the time; if she's all you think about."

"Yeah, I guess that's love."

Jubilee thought about that for a bit, "Yeah, I guess so, sigh." She thought a little while longer and announced, suddenly, "Whoever she is, I don't like her."

He chuckled, "Why not, she's a real sweetie. I think you would really like her, once you meet her, and get to know her a little bit. She's so caring and lovely to look at, and, well, I could go on."

"Well, I don't like her; because she's changed you, Morph, that's why I don't like her."

"Changed me?"

"Yeah, you don't pull pranks anymore, you're acting all different, and I don't like it one little bit. You shouldn't have to change yourself like that, just for someone, you think, you love. If it really truly is love, then you should be who you are, and whoever should be able to accept you, as is. Sure, it is one thing to grow and change, and make yourself better, say, like a bad habit, you need to get rid of, that's fine. But to change something about your personality like that, namely, you being a prankster; which; I love and adore about you, by the way; shouldn't happen. You shouldn't give up on doing that, or being you, especially for her sake. I mean if she said to you that she doesn't like pranks or you being a prankster, and you have to stop, just so you can be her boyfriend, she obviously isn't the one, because that's who you are, and I adore that part of your personality. You got to find someone who likes you for you. That's why, whoever she is, I hate her, and so should you, if she's doing that to you, changing you like that. It isn't right, and I hate her for it."

"Hate's a pretty strong word, Jubilee, besides I think once you meet her you might change your mind about that. By the way, she isn't doing that to me, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Are you going to go see her, and bring her here? Is she even a mutant? Have you asked her or seen her powers, yet, to know that?"

"Oh yes, she is a mutant, and yes, I've seen her use her powers. I will be going to go see her and ask her to join up and be with me, namely be my girlfriend, real soon. But, as for the other, not to worry, as I said, I haven't changed anything about me, and I wouldn't because you are so completely right about that. Besides, being in love, I really am homesick and anxious to finally go home, as soon as I can leave to do so, and well, it _was_ also constipation, and the Professor, you know. Everything is so different now, you know, so yeah, I haven't felt like myself. It's like having a bad cold, right now; so you won't feel too much like doing your regular activities until you get over it. I'm still in a way mourning a bit, you know. I may not always show my emotions, but rather I withdraw away for a little while when I'm feeling down a bit, but I do snap right back. So I'll be back to my normal cheerful self, very soon."

"I hope so, Morph, I really do." Jubilee chuckled with a smile, as she gave him a polite hug before she bluntly honestly told him. "I still think the Speedo you had on was sexy though, I really liked it."

Morph eyes her with a smirking smile, "Too bad I took it off, and it ain't coming back on. The Speedo is off, and it's staying off, sorry."

"You better put your swimsuit back on, right now," Jubilee's foster father said slightly angrily, hoping he misheard or misunderstood, what he meant, as he came out with a tray of drinks! He set the tray down and looked around, "Where is it?! Get or find your swimwear! And put it on!"

"I don't have any swimwear, to put on, technically."

"So you're naked in the hot tub with Jubilee?!" One look in the hot tub gave him his answer; he did have one on, however, it was Morph's words that gave him pause to have to wonder about that.

"I'm taking the 5th amendment on that one."

Jubilee gasped and chuckled, she had figured he would have something on, like what she had suggested, earlier, him using the X-Men underwear tights as underwear, and shapeshifting them into a swimsuit. So she was shocked at hearing how shamelessly outgoing he was, that Morph really had gone into the hot tub with her, naked! She was sort of joking about him going naked in a hot tub with her, knowing he had a tendency at times to be a nudist. So as a bit jokingly as she said it, perhaps he wasn't, or he didn't care, since he really could fake it with his powers. Without anyone being the wiser about it. Either way, she was beginning to feel just a bit uncomfortable with either idea right now. Not to mention her foster father and mother wouldn't be too pleased to find out the truth; what he could, or rather what Morph did with his powers, even though it was mentioned before. She had told them, after all, that Morph is a shapeshifter. Perhaps neither of them had quite got it, and what the beauty of all that had entailed, being one. Sometimes even she was a bit neglectful about it as well. "Oh my, gosh, so you really are naked, then, aren't you? I thought you…oh my, gosh!"

Martha was shocked too to hear this as she came out with a few nibblies. "Why did you let him get in there naked with you? It's not appropriate!"

"You said you had something to put on when you didn't. If you really didn't, you could have at least gone in your underpants; that would have been better than nothing at all!"

"I do have my underwear on, I'm not naked; you misunderstood."

"He's not naked, he's got something on, or he's using his powers to make it look like that, that he has a swimsuit on. But hey, we're all technically naked under our clothes, right, Morph?"

"Hey, maybe you should have used the mouthwash and not me, huh."

"Oops." _Or crap, he probably **is naked**! _

Standing up, "See I got a swimsuit on, or rather made it more of an appropriate one, since your daughter just couldn't keep her eyes off my sexy body, from this," shapeshifting it back to the Speedo. "But I am wearing underwear, this," reverting to the X-Men underwear like tights he had on." Morph eyes Jubilee with a slight blush, "I took your suggestion and used my X-Man undie tights as a bathing suit, and adjusted it accordingly. But since you can't keep your eyes off my hot swimwear, ahem, these go back on." Switching back to the swim trunks. "That's what I meant when I said the Speedo is off and it's not going back on."

"Ohh, come on. You can put the Speedo back on, Morph. I, we, don't mind, at all."

"Oh, I'm sure, _you_ ; don't, but I'm starting to mind. Maybe when you're a little older. So if you don't stop it, I'll put one of those surfer swimsuits on, in yellow." Now it was his turn to get his head soaked as he sat back down! Morph sputtered as he came up out of the water. "Hey!"

"That's your powers," he asked. "I thought you can change into other people."

"Yup, I can and do, but with it, I can also change the appearance of any part of myself, and that also, of course, includes my clothing, or lack thereof at will. Hey, has either of you two ever wondered what it would be like to kiss your twin brother or sister," he jokingly asks them, while changing into them accordingly.

The looks they gave him said it all, "Hey, what can I say; Morph has a wicked sense of humor." There was an uncomfortable silence and Jubilee wished there was some sort of, distraction, or way to quickly change the subject, or help them to forget this silly little incident, or to be focused on something else. Sometimes you got to watch what you wish for, even, think, wish for, because... _Where's a good distraction when you need one? We need to get off of this subject, like now._ Suddenly the silence was broken by a horrible sound to her ears. Jubilee heard the sniffing sound of it earlier, again, it was back, and that thing was more annoyed than ever. Yup, it was in one of its moods again, as that confirmed it, as the scratching on the fence, started up, with a few whines, and then the angry snarling, with the loud angry barking and the growling, to go with it, as it started lunging at the fence! "Ugh, I knew it, that it was still out. Is that thing still alive? Oh, man, seriously. Hasn't someone done something about it yet, to get rid of it? You know, before it does attack someone, if it hasn't done so already, or like it's trying to do now. Oh, man, now I remember why I don't like to visit here too often. It's all because of, that, **_thing_**!"

He shakes his head, he was far too tolerant for his own good, and he should have said or called someone, namely the police, as it seemed Animal Control was being useless. He had called, Animal Control, to have them do something about that dog, or at least issue some fines or something, or better yet, have them get rid of, or make them surrender it, but it seemed that they either did nothing or hadn't gotten back to him to finally go over there and do something about it, at all. "Still wakes me up in the morning when it's let out at 5:30, lucky if I can get back to bed after that. They hardly ever clean up after it, let alone on walks, it gets pretty bad. That thing is starting to tick me off too, especially when I got to work in the morning and I need the extra 2 to 3 hours of sleep, or at least like to have them. As of lately, I've resigned myself to going to bed at least 2 hours earlier, just so that I can get enough sleep because of that thing."

"You shouldn't have to put up with that, especially if you got work and you need a good night's rest. Those guys are nothing but jerks," Jubilee huffed. "Not to mention, what a menace it is. Why haven't you done something about it already, if it is that bad, huh?"

"We've called animal control before, on it, but nothing was ever done."

"Just the one time," Jubilee questions her foster mother?

"No, it was more than just the one time. I know I called at least three times, but they never got back to me, nor came over to do anything about it, as far as I know," he says shaking his head.

"Forget animal control, they rather spare a dog's life, then put a dog like that down as it should be. If anything it's laziness, or they don't have enough Animal Control Officers to go around, to deal with what they probably think are minor complaints. If you really want something done about it, you gotta just go for it. Go for the gusto, and call the police, and file a complaint report on them. Each time it, or the owners, do something wrong. That way it's on file. In fact, you can do it right now. You got a few charges you can lay on the owners, just on the aggression and excessive barking alone. It just isn't right, and is in fact, against the law, and probably your neighborhood ordnance, to have an animal, like a dog, making noise that early in the morning, every single day. They have to pick up after it, like it or not, that's what being a dog owner is all about, picking up after their dog, like it or not. If you do need more evidence, to get a case on them, to get them into court, to get something really done about it, on whomever, that they don't pick up after it, or how much it barks. Get your cameras and videotape it, or take some pictures of them and the big mess in the yard. Make audio and or video recordings of it to show in court, how long the barking goes on for, be it in the morning, or when they go off to work and leave it alone. If you do get any pictures or recordings of it, make sure there are time and date stamps on it. How long does the barking go on for, before it stops, have you ever recorded it? Because if it goes over 10 minutes, you do have a case."

"Too long," Martha answers.

"Yeah, at least 10 minutes or more. And no we haven't recorded it yet, we should have."

"That's unacceptable. You shouldn't have to put up with that. In fact my…"

"We won't be for long. I'm gonna kill that damn thing, right now, I've had it‼" Jubilee flared up her powers in her hands as she got out of the hot tub, intent to blind and blast it to kingdom come! At this point, it didn't matter, what happened, if she lost a friend, or if she had animal cruelty charges put on her, for killing it, or both. Whatever, so be it. Because the way she saw it, the thing was ready to attack, and kill, or at least mangle; and she for one, was not going to let her family, or friend, be its first bite! She would kill it before that ever happened! It was bad enough it snapped at her that one time. So she would not let something, far worse, happen, all because of that blasted Pitbull!

Morph made a disgusted face. "What kind of dog is that by the way? It sounds big." In fact, he was getting very uncomfortable and a bit freaked out with it ramming at the fence. Whatever it was, it sure sounded like it wanted to attack, someone, clearly. Jubilee had the right idea, in killing it now, before it had the chance to do so, attack. Even if AC wanted to spare its life, a dog like that should be destroyed, there should be no excuses for that kind of unprovoked aggression. Jubilation had the right idea, a dog like that should be put to death, no questions asked.

"It is. After all, it's a Pitbull Rottweiler mix."

"What?!" That certainly explained it, probably an unsprayed; but more than likely, that it is an unneutered male. No doubt, that had snapped. There was only one choice, one recourse, for that, vile beast. "Kill it, then‼ Whoever owns that mutant fleabag is breaking the law, times 2, no, 3, or more! Not to mention, the fact, it is lunging at the fence to get over here, proves, it is vicious. Go right ahead and kill it, and call the police, because if you don't, kill it, I will, or help you to slaughter it, before it does try to mangle us," shapeshift popping out a set of Wolverine claws.

Jubilee smiled, so, it seems, Morph also hates dogs, great, just great, and not what she expected at all, not from a sweet guy like him. Then it hit, she realized it, oh of course. Maybe that's what Scott had meant, by; you are just like Morph, so maybe it seems Morph also hates dogs. Or at least he had the good sense to be wary and hateful of any vicious dog and or Pitbulls or pit mixes in general. "Oh no, not before I cram my fireworks up its muzzle. You can have at it after that."

"They're breaking the law," Martha questions, "how do you know?"

Getting out of the hot tub too and 'putting on' with his powers, what looked like normal clothes, jean shorts, a red top, with high-tops without socks on his feet. "I know the laws about dogs here in New York. One of my many interests. Especially since my father is a lawyer, I have a vested interest in it. That was one of the big upsides, I found out about, when I came here, is they have a law against Pitbulls, and pit mixes and other vicious dogs like that they are completely banned here in Westchester. So, whoever owns that, nasty mutant abomination, clearly, is breaking the law, and I will not stand for it, at all!"

There was an acceptation, to that law, if they got the dog before a certain date, that it had to be 16 years or older, to be able to keep it, as it would undoubtedly die soon. However, there were also very specific laws that had to carefully be adhered to, to keep it. Namely, the charges you had to pay upfront, and each additional year thereafter, were just so outrageous, making it just so ridiculous to even want to keep it. Even the vet bills if it is, or did, get sick, on top of that charge were substantial. So unless you won the lottery or have a very high paying job/s would you be able to comfortably afford to keep it. Even so, if you had that kind of excess cash, especially here in New York, where rent prices were known to be very high, even regular housing, to afford that charge, was insane. Not to mention, along with your monthly housing, or rent costs, to throw around, or rather down the dog's crap-hole, to keep your so-called precious Pitbull. That is unless you were certified, (insane) who in their right mind would ever want to keep it? Especially considering their mangling and bloodthirsty killing tendencies, they had, to snap, at any given time, without any sort of warning signs. Hence, why, the all big huge yearly charges just to keep them. So, why did they keep it? That's what he wanted to and intended to find out, as he went over to the fence.

Jubilee cringed knowing that dog's vicious temperament. But it was Martha who asked as the dog rammed the fence, and then stopped as Morph headed over to take a look. "What are you doing? I don't think that's…"

"Checking up on it to see if they are breaking the law and how." The yard was a mess, it just reeked of dog crap, as there were dog turds all over the place, things ripped, and torn up, and there it was, that big nasty thing, snarling at him. Morph looked around for a few seconds more to find out what else they were doing wrong to possibly break the law. If anything, they probably weren't paying for it yearly. Clearly. Just looking at the place, they lived in. Either that or that dog was sucking up and craping out whatever they had made; just to keep it. No doubt 6 to 1 they weren't paying for it, they were breaking the law. Morph looked over the fence for a few seconds more, as it growled and snarled at him, to try to determine a few things, before the dog tried to lunge at his face! Yup not only was it clearly still a young vicious Pitbull Rottweiler mix, so there was no way it was over 16 years, unless they counted it in dog years, when they got it. Not only that but from what Morph had seen; it was also an unneutered male as well, as he caught sight if its ball sacks and penis as it turned around before it did what it did. Additionally, he had spotted that it was tethered, or looked like it was being tethered. Not currently, obviously, but the chain and peg in the ground were obviously for the dog, to keep it in place, no doubt when the owner(s) were out, which was a big no-no. There seemed to be no warning signs up at all, which was a mandate if you kept them. As well as having the dog muzzled when it went out, which it wasn't, as the dog suddenly runs and jumps up, to lunge up right at his face! Sending poor freaked out Morph to his butt startled and gasping in the process! If Morph hadn't just gone for a pee recently, he would have had done so, now, an accident, he was that startle freaked out by it. Even if he did try to play it off, that, it didn't freak him out that badly. "Whoa, shit!" That nasty thing was just an all-around nasty evil nuisance. It should have been, surrendered to AC or to the local A/SPCA or PALS, or to whatever animal rights organization they had; or handed over to the dogcatcher to be destroyed, a long time ago. So why the heck hadn't anyone report it to AC, or better yet, to the cops, a long time ago? It just didn't make any sense to him at all.

"Are you okay," Martha asked before Jubilee could.

"Yeah, it just scare-startled me, when it tried to lunge at me." He was helped up and smiled at her pretending everything was okay, but it wasn't. Not at all. Clearly, to his eyes, these idiots were breaking the law several times over. It was way too young to be grandfathered under the law to be able to legally be allowed to keep it. So something just didn't add up about that. Even if by any off chance that it was 16 or older and the dog just didn't look its age, well, a vicious dog like that still should have been destroyed a long time ago. His best guess was, remembering back with his photographic memory, of the dog's face, it has scars on its face. So his best guess as to why they kept it was it was involved in an underground dogfighting organization. Not only would they get plenty enough money to pay for it to keep it, from the dogfights and or stud services. Hence, why it was unneutered times two, for breeding and for more viciousness aggressiveness, being unneutered, if his guess was right. So even if they did, abide by that law, and his best guess was, they probably weren't, since they were already breaking the law anyhow. But they could also pay off whomever; to keep quiet about it as well, if need be, while still keeping up appearances. "Yup, they're breaking the law, for sure, no doubt about it."

Jubilee shook her head. Morph was shaking. Even if he tried to look not too freaked out by it. Now was a good a time as any, as she dared to ask. After all, it seemed like a really good time to ask him, if he did like them. If he did like them, however, now, might be a very good time to try to make him change his mind about that. But despite the fact he had a potential girlfriend if it didn't work out, and he was to be, that one, he had to… "You hate dogs?"

"Loathe them. Anything and everything about them, in fact. But Pitbulls are the worst," he mentions offhandedly, especially more so after his recent encounter with one.

"Me too. Couldn't agree more about the Pitbulls." They smiled at each other for a few more moments before being reminded of the nasty vile abomination behind the fence. "Get the phone, dad, and call the cops or 9-1-1, and get them over here."

"Because this is unacceptable behavior, and someone is breaking the law and is about to pay for it." He already had a plan of attack in mind. "I'll go in to distract it, and you come in after me to blind it, and while it can't see, or is dazed, you can let a few off in its mouth and I'll cut its head off. I don't care what anyone says, or tries, to do about it; that dog should have been killed off, a long time ago. I can deal with the consequences after it's killed. Besides, I know of a really good lawyer, hee, hee."


	13. An Unforeseen Tragedy

**_An Unforeseen Tragedy_**

"What if it attacks you, or tries to again? It already tried to when it lunged at you." Jubilation should have known; Morph was fully capable of a lot of things, as he shapeshifted into Colossus in his armor form. To top it off, he had made medieval flail in his left and a broadsword in his right hand, to protect himself. A flail if you didn't already know is a spiked ball on the end of a chain attached to a wooden baton. "Got it. If it tries to bite down on you, it will probably break its teeth off. Or you'll smash its ugly face in with that. Good plan, Morph."

"Oh, my," Martha gasps, as she watched the action unfold; now seeing what a shapeshifter was capable of doing, or what his powers could do. So, Morph's powers could be used both offensively and defensively or both. Pretty much limited by his imagination it seemed. "Go get the phone, dear, I think the kids can handle this."

"Right," he nodded and went inside to go get the mobile phone and call the police with it and comes out with it. "Just wait up, okay, before you do, do anything to it, okay," he said before heading inside. He wanted to see this; that blasted dog finally get his.

"You got it. Time to make it a good dog. Because, the only good dog…"

Jubilee smiled, she would always say the same thing about them too. So it seemed they were indeed like-minded. "Is a dead dog. Especially, the only good Pitbull…"

"Is a dead Pitbull," Morph agreed. They waited until Jubilee's foster father came out with the phone in hand. No need to miss this, after all; he wanted to see it, the dog getting what was rightly coming to it. Namely, to be put down, one way or another. Once he was back outside and talking to the police on the phone, the teens had already been talking quietly amongst themselves making their plan of attack in hushed whispered tones. As well as expressing their concerns and worries over the mauler next-door. "We can't let it escape. Might have to do it over the fence or something."

"Agreed, I can stun blind it, and you can handle the rest as far as killing it with that or whatever or however you like. It will be far safer for you when it can't see straight or at all. Then I can come in and finish the job, or finish it off," she says imitating an explosion noise.

"Right. But whatever we do, we can't let it escape the yard, if we can help it, because if it tries to, or worse does, I have a gut feeling it's gonna attack someone. Not just us, if it gets loose. It will go after anyone it sees if it gets the chance to. It's going to try to go after anything that moves, be it a person, another dog, or animal, for the kill, or at least mangle. So we can't let that happen, at all, we have to be clear about that, if we do this."

"Agreed, that thing has definitely snapped. We gotta stop it, and take it out before it does have a chance to do that. We can't take any chances. You're right, what if it gets out and tries to go after to try to attack someone, besides us, like little kids or some other pet."

"Or your foster parents, God forbid. Agreed we have to kill it now before it does do something like get over the fence and go on the attack." The dog slams hard on the fence and growls, and Morph startles a bit and shakes his head. "Or before it busts through the fence, and goes on the attack here. I'll kill it if it breaks through. I don't care if what we might have to do is wicked in the eyes of any dog lovers; we do have the law on our side here, no matter what anyone else says or thinks."

"Besides this would be self-defense, anyhow."

"You bet. So, here's the plan…"

Meanwhile, as the kids were whispering and talking quietly, he was busy talking on the phone, with the police, as he came back outside. "Yeah, it's a nuisance, been that way from day one. Not only does that dog bark its head off every morning at around 5:30 in the morning, waking me up, when it's let out, but goes on for over 10 minutes, or more, sometimes 15 to 20 minutes, or more, before the owner does something about it. But it's also a Pitbull Rottweiler mix. I have a guest over here that tells me, that they are in fact, illegal to own here, they're banned. Is that true? _Really_. Had I known that, I would have called you guys a lot sooner, to have someone come over, and do away with it. It's vicious, it's ramming at the fence and snarling and acting like it wants to come over here right now to attack, someone, as we speak, the vicious thing. Here, want to listen," he walks over to the fence and holds out the phone as the dog growls and barks angrily and charges at the fence again ramming its head or body or whatever against it. "Hear that, well, I think it's safe to say, that has snapped and it's ready to kill someone. It's probably trying to break through the wooden fence to attack, it's crazy. It already nearly got our guest in the face when he looked over the fence to I guess determine its age. Not to mention that it snapped at my sweet Jubilee when we went over to go greet the new neighbor, a few years ago."

"It doesn't look 16 to me unless it hides its age very well." Morph looked at Jubilation and whispered, "Is that true it snapped it you?"

"Yup, he insisted I pet it, telling me it wouldn't do anything, it's the sweetest Pitbull ever."

"Pfffft! Typical dogger excuse or lie."

"Yup, and I was already leery of it, just being a Pitbull and didn't want to go near it, let alone to pet it. But he insisted I do so. He wouldn't let me say no, I had to pet it. It snarled and snapped at me the moment I tried to pet it."

"I'm gonna kill it for that. Inexcusable! Or at least cut its nuts off. Yeah, I'm gonna cut them off." _Especially since the mutt should have been, cut, or, sniped, a long time ago._

"The dog or the human?"

Morph laughed in spite of himself. "The dog, but maybe I ought to fix the human as well since those kinds of idiot scum shouldn't be allowed to reproduce," he half-jokes, but it still made Jubilation giggle at it though. That reminded him, "Tell the cop or whoever you're talking to, that the dog isn't even neutered, and it has to be. I'm gonna cut that dog's nuts off you hear, I'll cut them off‼ I'll neuter that demon dog myself‼" Morph yelled so the police or whoever was on the other end of the phone can hear it! He was joking, of course, but was pretty ticked off to hear what it had done to Jubilee.

"Really?" Morph nodded. Then made a finger snip-snip gesture. "It's younger than 16, and if you didn't overhear that, it's an unneutered male, Pitbull. Apparently, it might not be so, for long." He nods getting the news Morph was right on this. "Uh-mmm yeah, really, uh-huh, okay. Yeah, I'll tell them that. The police said that you're right, what they are doing is, in fact, illegal; along with it also being, mandatory, that it has to be spayed, or neutered. The cop said, good luck in getting the snarling demonic beast, to cooperate, long enough, to cut its nuts off, ha, ha, ha," trying to express the slight bit sarcasm he got from the cop on the other end. "He also said, if you are serious, don't bother, they want to see it intact so they can charge the owner. Also, that would be animal cruelty, and you will be very heavily charged for it, unless you are a vet, and are surgically removing them."

"No, I wasn't being serious; I was just ticked to hear what it did to Jubilee is all. That would be kind of a cool souvenir though. What are those? Oh, those, those are my bull's balls. Pitbull balls that is. They're illegal here, and when I see them, I cut them off! Any questions?!" Morph couldn't do serious, for too long; he always tried to make a joke about, well, just about anything he could.

"Yes, he was joking, of course."

"Hey, ask them how about after, it's dead, ask them if I can get them then, after it's dead, or put down if I can cut them off then? I want to keep them as a souvenir."

"How about after, it's dead, or put down; he's asking he wants to have them as a souvenir, what about then?" Chuckling. "After it's put down, you can ask. But good luck, in finding someone to do that, let alone the taxidermy."

"Lucky is my middle name…" Jubilee opened her mouth to say something. "Actually it's not, but you know what I mean. I'm gonna get a special souvenir, two ugly hairy ones," he chuckles.

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, trying not to laugh about it. "However, the good news is, for us, is the dog will now be taken, or the owner will be made to surrender it to Animal Control to be destroyed. They're going to issue a warrant for a full house search and investigation and possible arrest of the owner, if they do find the dog is underage and or the dog is aggressive, and precautions have not been put into place to keep the public safe."

"Which there haven't, I didn't see anything, when I looked in the yard. You?"

"Nope, no beware of dog, or muzzle on when it's being walked, nothing."

"There's nothing warning of the dog, like beware of dog, and he doesn't muzzle it on walks. I can vouch for that as well; sometimes he even walks it off leash." Nodding as he listened. "The cop just said, even if it is 16 or over, with it showing clear signs of aggression, and trying to attack you, and even snapping at Jubilee, it means that it has to be destroyed under the law. Regardless if it is over or under the age of 16, it will be destroyed, because of its aggressive behavior. They will also have to do an investigation of the owner's yard; to see if what we say is true. They will get a search warrant ready now and issue it right after they take the dog away to be destroyed if they find the charges to be true."

"All I needed to hear. Right?" Morph nodded as the teens were now more than ready to deal with the dog themselves. Even despite the fact, the police and AC were probably coming over to finally properly deal with it. Both said it, without saying it, as they looked at each other, no taking chances.

"Hey, Jubes, is it just me, and my imagination, or did you ever notice that it has scars on its face and muzzle? Because uh…"

"It's not just you; there are some on its body as well. Why?"

"I knew it," he looks up and rolls his eyes. "Tell the police the dog might also be involved in an illegal underground dogfighting arena. That might explain it, how they can get away with keeping it. That or they got it as a rescue from a bullfighting arena. Either way, it still needs to be destroyed, since it is way too aggressive to be kept."

"You got to be kidding. I should have figured that out myself. I would have got the cops out here a long time ago if I had known or suspected that," Jubes sighs.

"Dogfighting? Yes, I'll tell them. Our guest thinks the dog might be in some sort of illegal dogfighting arena, or that came from one, or possibly a bullfighting rescue, because it has scars on its face and body, and acts aggressively."

"They're probably paying people off, including Animal Control, to keep quiet about it, hence why they can keep a young dog like that around. Just a guess."

"Hmmm," Martin, Jubilee's foster father nods and told the police all about it. (Editor's Note: I have found Jubilation's foster father's real name, is Martin, last name Dobson. Good thing I did find out Jubilee's foster parent's last name and her foster father's real first name. Maybe a good thing why it took so long to get this one out, thank You, Jesus! I was going to and had named him John, as I did need for him to have a name later on and now. But I have found out his real name is Martin, from the comic book adaptation of the X-Men The Animated Series, X-Men Adventures. Just a hint of a special chapter to come, if you can guess why I will need his first name and last.) "Oh really. Oh, okay, thank you. We'll be expecting you then, bye," clicking off the phone, he cheers. "Yes! The dog is as good as dead! They said they're going to send someone over here soon to deal with it. They're going to send police officers as well as Animal Control over right now to take it away. Finally, it's about time! Dead dog walking!"

"Deal with it, but not dispose of it, I take it," Jubilee scoffs, more than done with the annoyance of that evil monster behind the fence. The owner as well.

"Jubilee is right; I rather not take that chance. There have been too many cases just like this one where a dog, namely a Pitbull, has to be destroyed, but it doesn't get the needle. They quarantine it to check for rabies and or for the owner to come up with proof that it has had its shots and they are all up-to-date. But by the time, the 10 to 11 days are up, and it's to be put down, already there's a GoFundMe page and even people campaigning at the shelter where it's kept, to keep the beast alive. Guess who wins, and really, who ultimately loses, all because of that, when they pull a stunt like that, and the dog doesn't get killed? Not going to take that chance. Not only that, it's contempt of court when they do something like that after a judge has made the ruling and has ordered an animal to be put down. We should just go over there and kill it right now, and be done with it. You know, before it tries to do that to us, or anyone else for that matter."

"Yeah or it's gonna be little Kevin all over again, I just know it, we have to do it, kill it now, to prevent something like that from ever happening. Or something far worse, it attacking someone if it gets loose. We have to kill it now."

"Little Kevin," Martin asks.

"A Pitbull named Mickey AKA Mickey the Mauler, by our fellow dog haters. What happened was it attacked a little boy and was sentenced to life in prison without hope of parole or release. As if, it was a human, pfffft. But a bunch of people campaigned against it to prevent it from being destroyed. Lies half-truths the kid took the dog's bone, blaming the parent and the babysitter who was not looking after the child, supposed neglect, and abuse of the animal. Any, and everything else, but their precious pit, that had mangled the kid's face permanently. The stupid dog already snapped and attacked another dog, once already, before that incident, should have been warning enough it was dangerous, but no, the dog is innocent. It was supposed to be life behind bars, or better yet death needle, which it should have gotten. But guess what, about a year later, that mutt is now a free dog, out of doggy prison, to no doubt kill again. I have to agree what they did there was contempt of court when they let that dog live and worse go free. We just can't take a chance, of that, a repeat like that happening here, with that monster behind the fence. Could get anyone of us or worse some innocent neighborhood kid down the road," shaking her head. Near tears, motherly instincts kicking in, "We, can't, take that chance."

Of all the stupid and foolish things, that dogs and dogger owners and lovers do this is by far the worst thing a dogger could do was to rally with other doggers to try to keep an evil dog like that alive. Besides how they aggravate, most people, with good sense. How doggers manipulate the system, just to try to justify and try to keep a dog like that alive, rather than to be put down. The only reason a dog like that should ever be kept alive is to have it quarantined, to check for rabies, before disposing of it, by killing it. Yes, there are some cases where the dog could be trained and or rehomed; it could be only acting aggressively all because of pain or an injury. But this was not the case here he was sure of that. Besides, the law here is the law, and the law has justly spoken, a death sentence to be carried out. He just wanted to make sure it, **_does_** get carried out. "Yup, agreed, if not that then something else similar might happen. More than likely, what will happen is, Animal Control will probably catch the dog, only to take pity on it. Especially if it has been in a dogfighting arena or a bullfighting arena and put it in a no-kill shelter, out of town, somewhere they are legal to own. There they will, 'train it' a bit," Morph quotes with his fingers. Knowing all too well of the horror stories he had read both online and seen on the news, as well as was given links to, to watch, when he checked in to vent with his fellow dog haters online about dogs and their idiot owners. Yes, as well as the one about Mickey the Mauler Jubilee just expressed. "After that, they will declare it not vicious, and then they will send it on off to rehome it someplace else, at some other, victim's place. I can nearly guarantee it if Animal Control handles this, and not the police themselves, to shoot it dead, they will try something stupid, like that. Because they will never tell you it's aggressive, nor its past, oh no, they'll just sweet-talk and butter you up, because they think and believe all dogs with a little training can become perfect house pets. It's a nanny dog, so it's so perfect for kids; it is lies, pure lies; all lies! It's an unfounded and preposterous pompous rumor, with no foundation, on the truth, whatsoever, and I for one won't take that chance. Letting it attack anyone. Let alone some innocent kid, or worse kill it. All because it got rehomed, all because Animal Control won't do their job right, and kill the dog. It has already tried to get me once; and Jubilee too, so it's charged under the law, to be put down, just for that act alone. If I have to get my papa to defend me in court, for what I'm about to do to it, so be it. I really don't care, that dog needs to die. Yes, I do appreciate Animal Control Officers, when they do their jobs right, but I think there a few corrupt ones maybe working there that need to be dealt with and punished. Well, you know, considering no one has done anything about this nuisance dog already."

"Exactly, and I don't believe it, the lies, they try to use to try to defend a dog like that, with their preposterous lame mantra, they try to pull all the time. Pulling out that brainwashing, it's all in how you raise it crap, because that's all it is, is dog crap. It has proven that, with you and me alone. Even if they did quote-unquote, raise it well, its genetics showed up, to try to play, chew toy, with your face," she says angrily, and bitterly. "No Pitbull should ever be given a second chance because once it has gotten the taste for blood or snapped like it has, that's it, it's gonna do it again, and act aggressively all the time. Let's do this thing." Jubilation nodded once in agreement, with a big satisfied stern look on her face, so ready to let the dog have his! She was more than ready to get rid of it! They go on with their plan as rehearsed. Namely, to carefully approach it, and subdue it, her part, and then destroy it, Morph's part. Any remnants would be hers to get rid of; making sure it is well and truly dead. No questions asked. If anyone asks, or complains about it, what they did, or were doing if caught in the act, they agreed to say that it is a dangerous menace, and they were only acting self-defense, after all, it is the truth. They also could say that it was going to be destroyed anyhow. They, however, were just going to make sure the job gets done, right, namely the death sentence that needed to be carried out, does get carried out, today. Yes, a seemingly cruel act to any bystanders. But they were not only doing it, to defend, and protect themselves, but mostly any, and everyone else, in the nearby radius of its jaws, who couldn't protect themselves, like they could.

Morph cautiously approaches the front of the yard with Jubilee close behind, but hopefully at a safe enough distance behind him. As they cautiously approach the front yard to go deal with it, Morph knew this would be dangerous. Flashing momentarily back to that night in question, he was so foolish that one night, not to do it; it did not matter if he had thought that it was easy; and clear sailing. Much less this obviously dangerous one. It didn't matter the differences, the biggest difference between what happened, that night, and today, was one thing. Prayer. He didn't do it that night. But he would do it today. Yes, he should have done it, and he knew what had happened that night, and it was all because he didn't, pray for protection. Whether on his own, with others, or with the others leaving him behind, and him praying for their safety, he always prayed for protection, when he or they went on a mission. But he did not do it at all that night; and paid for it. It could have all been avoided if he had prayed for protection. This was no different, this was a mission, that needed to be carried out, and they needed as always, Divine Protection, from the Lord! "Thank You, God, for the reminder." Praying confidently for their safety, in his native tongue, he switched over to praying in Tongues. He was not taking any chances, no, not this time, he had learned his lesson, he learned the hard way, not to, **_ever_** , take any chances with 'easy missions', and to treat them all equally, as potentially dangerous, possibly life threating ones. Plus it would be foolish not think that way, with a deadly dog, to go deal with and try to dispose of, and even worse, a crazy dog owner, to deal with next.

Patting his back with a smile and a nod. "Amen, God keep us safe, I think we might need an Angel or two here, at least, for sure, to protect us all." Sure, Jubilee didn't know what he was praying exactly, but caught on it was a prayer for protection. So she just came into agreement with Morph on it. The perfect thing to do.

As they approach the front yard towards the side of the fence, the snarling and growling starts getting more intense and louder. The ramming up on the fence is also very disconcerting. Startled by it again, but he kept up with his intent, as he slowly, and with full focus, on trying to hold his courage, to go deal with the deadly dog. This time when the dog rams itself right up against the fence it was right where he was standing and he startled! "Whoa, oh boy!"

"Yeah, this is what I got to deal with every time I come to visit! It does that to me too, when I'm in my yard, and he's out. You're not the only one who gets startled and freaked out by that thing. I swear it has a vendetta against mutants because he doesn't do it, to my foster parents, when they are out, just to me, and now you."

"Probably got it trained to go after mutants."

"No doubt. I got your back, Morph, if it does anything, go for it."

He nods in acknowledgment, and approaches the front of the yard, intending to go in to deal with the dog. When suddenly, he stops, as he hears it, the distinctive whistle of Jubilee's powers going off! As he looks back, her hands are lit up. So, she was ready to attack it, good girl; glad to know she had his back as she had said. Only to realize she had already used them, as he looks down. "What the hay?" Jubilee, yes indeed, has his back, because his back would have been done for, ground meat from the meat grinder dog if she weren't! The Pitbull was lying right there between them, half-stunned and unconscious looking, but no doubt, still very dangerous. It must have given up trying to break through the fence and tried out a new tactic. Obviously, to try to run and jump right up over the fence and right between where they were! After all, it had pretty much done that to him once already, when it ran and lunged at his face. Jubilee stopped it before it had its second chance at that, his pretty face! Or rather his backside, or her face for that matter. "Oh, my God." Thank God, Jubilee reacted swiftly and had nailed it midair, probably, because it was on the ground dazed! Jubilee had saved him from its vicious attack! Before Morph could even thank her and praise her for her quick reaction, the evil nasty Pitbull quickly recovered. Its aggressive tenacity for bloodlust and fighting showed, as it tried but it failed to jump up again to latch its jaws onto Morph's face, as he was ready for it this time as he swung the flail right at the dog's face. It would have been hard enough to knock a few teeth out and or loose, he was sure, well, provided if it had connected to the dog's ugly face. However, it did something else; it had latched right on to the spiked ball of the flail as it growls and pulls and tugs at it as it shakes it with all its might. Despite his shapeshifted form Morph not only looked freaked out but as if he was in pain!" He tried whacking it a few times with the broadsword, but seemingly to no avail! Even trying to stab it a bit did nothing! The dog once latched on, just as its beastly nature dictates, just would not let go, no matter what you tried to do to it, to try to stop it! "Aagh! Get off! Get off me! Get it off me!"

"Shut your eyes, Morph."

Morph already knew what she was about to do as he tightly shut his eyes, and turned his head away, as Jubilee blasted the dog it in its face! With satisfying squealing and yelping, and whining of pain, to the two dog haters, the dog was down, but far from out. As it was still latched onto Morph's flail arm. But wouldn't be for long, "Get off," and finally it detached and was flung off as he whips and flings the dog around a few times before he shrinks it down some, so it finally lets go! It flew off a few feet and rolls. He sighs out and reverts, maybe not a great idea, even if the dog was now cowering a bit in fear between snarls of anger and pain, looking still dazed possibly blinded by Jubilee's attack, as it tries to recover some! But Morph needed to know and see the extent of the damage that mutant mutt did. Thankfully, he saw that there wasn't any. Technically, in that hardened metallic form, there wasn't really anything to really try to sink down into to try to hurt him. But that didn't stop him from feeling it, the pain and be freaked out about it. Maybe it was in his head and or a phantom pain that he felt because even when the real Wolverine had sliced off the duplicate set of claws he made, he didn't feel any pain, or not much more than cutting your nails a little too short. Of course, his adrenalin was running high then too he knew. No, it had just shocked surprised him a bit, as he melded the cut parts back into himself then attacked his best friend as a panther. The memory flashback gone now as he was brought back to here and now reality as the nasty dog continues to yelp and whines out in pain. Obviously trying to attract its owner/s, snapping Morph out of his retrospection.

"Now that's one dog sound I do like hearing, the sound of pain."

"Amen."

"You okay, Morph, did it hurt you?"

"Yeah I'm okay; it couldn't break through the form I was in to actually hurt me, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel the pain of it latching down on me. Phantom pain I guess. Maybe it was all in my head more than anything else. It's all yours. Kill it. Or you can stun it and we can both do away with it. Franky, I don't care how it gets killed. But it has to die; it has got to be killed."

"I don't know, Morph, we're gonna have one heck of a time explaining how, and possibly why, we killed the thing. Especially if the cops need to get evidence on it to prove it is involved in illegal dogfighting. Or for that matter what if it has rabies, what then, they need it alive, right?"

"Good point. My hatred towards dogs is clouding my better judgment. But if we hadn't done something it would have probably still jumped the fence and come after us. Or for that matter anyone. Man, you saved my life again, thank you. Though they can test it for rabies after its dead, it's better if it is alive. Say, can you nail it hard enough to either kill it or stun it somehow without doing any actual physical damage to it?"

"Not a problem, I could kill it very easily from the inside out on the molecular level with my powers, and I'd be more than happy to do so to end its life. That demon spawn of Satan has had a big vendetta on me and my foster family from day one, and I for one don't want to take a chance if it can get rehomed." After all, of the trouble, it had caused to her foster parents, and especially to her foster dad, with lack of sleep for work, and all the annoyances, that abomination had brought to her from day one. She still couldn't have, nor get a peaceful day here, with her foster family. So what she was about to do was only fitting, to slowly, end its life, with her powers. "But I think I will just stun it for now, and let the cops and Animal Control handle it, provided that they promise it will get put down. If not," making a slit the throat gesture, and sound to go with it. "Might as well keep our hands clean, so to speak, while keeping them safe from this nasty thing," thumb pointing at the dog who recovered from their attacks. Clearly, recovered, as it snarled, and snapped, at her, as well, as it tries to go for her face, this time! But wisely, it backs off as Jubilee lit up her powers in her hands and the dog cowers slightly, as it knows what's up, seeing that before, to be wary of it! "Whoa, back off, dimwit; or you are gonna get it, Bruiser! If you don't, I'll change my mind, and I will kill you, right here, right now, if you don't back off‼"

"Is that its name, Bruiser?" She nods hands sparking with her powers, ready to let the dog have it! "Fitting name, for a killer dog." It snaps and snarls and at him and Jubilee. Jubilee having enough of that, blasts at it, causing it to squeal out in shock, not so much pain, though it did sound that way, as it takes off howling.

She was ticked off at herself for not killing it but just hurting it more or less. But doubted that it was over, far from it. Then again, she was too close to Morph, to risk it, more than that, to really let the dog have it. "Bastard dog. You okay?" Morph nods he was just fine. "I doubt it's over." Jubilee was right about that. It had seemingly taken off, the bastard thing, to try out a sneak attack. Though they were all looking out and around for it, thinking that it may have gone back inside its home, but were still very cautious, it was still out there, somewhere, ready to attack. Not knowing that it had taken off down the street a bit. "We had better go after it and try to stop it before it tries to bite someone else. If we don't stop it now…"

"Right. It will try to kill or at least attack someone else."

"Mom, dad, stay here, and give a yell or something if you see it or it comes back."

"You got it," Martin says.

"We'll keep an eye out for it," Martha adds.

Snarling all the way it had gone off down the road, and hopped the small fence of a neighbor's Dachshund or Wiener dog and ran in and through the front doggy door. There confronted by the little dog the much bigger Pitbull wasted no time in killing the smaller defenseless dog, in its powerful jaws! Delighting in what it was doing, he had a bit of fun, shaking it a bit; just to torture it, a little, before the finishing move. It snapped both its neck and back in one lightning quick move as soon as it had it in its jaws, after was it done with its playtime! Done with its, appetizer, as it liked its chops, savoring the yummy taste of the bloody meal after taking a good bite out of the backside of its hide. Firm now in its resolve and training, it went after its real victims, the two mutant teenagers! Course, those other adults sure could use a good mauling as well and was all for doing that, right after he had finished killing and attacking the two teenagers, dead! Running out the backyard doggie door, and to the hole in the fence, the dead Dachshund had dug through, leading it to the adjacent neighbor's yard! Although it took a bit of time, between the mauling that took place in the house, with no one home there at the moment, to try to stop him. As well as to squeeze through the 2 small doggy doors and through the hole in the fence, then to go off through the adjacent neighbor's unfenced yard. To try to pull off this wicked and nasty, duplicitous, tricky, sneak attack. The cops discovered during their raid and inspection of the place, how it happened; especially after getting a report of a dog mauling a Dachshund dead. They had found out a week later how it all had happened and how it had almost got the better of the 2 teens. The Pitbull had gone through the 2 doggie doors, and then under the hole in the Dachshund's yard, and then through the adjacent neighbor's unfenced yard, to try to sneak up behind Jubilee and Morph.

It had caught them all by surprise. Even as Martha screamed in shock terror, and Martin yelped out, "Look out it's coming," as it ran past them through their yard, and right for the kill attack!

Seemingly too late to warn her, as it happened all too quickly without warning as it suddenly had charged right at her, from out of nowhere as she froze. She could only cry out, "Morph," as Jubilee went wide-eyed. Morph realized, from the verbal warnings, of her foster family, as his powers had then activated, and he spun around, and hit his mark, like a true huntsman, as the squeal, and yelp of pain sounded off in the air! "Oh, sigh, thanks, Morph, I froze."

"Understandable. I did the same when I faced the Sentinels. So thanks for the warnings, all of you," he sighs as he reverts his hand from the spike ball after smacking it in the face/jaw with it. "Got you that time didn't I? Diddums face hurt now, couple teeth knocked out and loose?" The dog was rubbing its face with its paws and yes one tooth came out and maybe another or a big chunk of tooth at least. "Aww, it hurts pretty badly, huh, ohh. Well, you deserve it, you vile cursed evil abomination of the devil," he says gruffly at the end. The vile Pitbull squealed out in pain from the hit Morph gave it, but would be more so in pain, he was sure, when Jubilee does whatever she has in mind for that nasty mutt. "Kill it, or do whatever you have in mind. I doubt it's gonna hurt or attack you now."

Shaking pretty badly after that, now she knew how Morph must have felt when it went after his face! "Well I did want to kill it; I could have basically given it a stroke with my powers. However, since we do need to keep it alive, I got a much better idea. I got a nasty way to put this dog into total misery, and still keep it from hurting anyone else, while in agony."

"This I'd love to see."

"Actually, you can't, and neither can I. So close your eyes, Morph, you too mom and dad, or you might get hit with it too, even from that distance, I have to do the same. Can't take the chance." Flicking down her sunglasses, checking they all shut their eyes and or covered them and looked away, she did it. The first hit of her mark, it was just making sure she had the clear shot of its head and face, without actually directly hitting it. In fact, that would be counterproductive for what she had in mind to do to the dog, actually physically hitting the dog with her powers. No, this did not involve hitting and nailing it with her powers, this was a lightshow, so to speak. Shutting her eyes tightly she looks away as she changes the patterns in her 'fireworks', to rapidly flashing her powers in red and blue colors and in other varying patterns of strobing flashing and rapidly pulsing patterns for a few seconds. That was all it took to put the dog out of harm's way, as far as any more attacking goes. When she hears, what she assumes is the start of the attack; she stops and checks her handiwork. Yes, it had indeed worked! "It's safe to look now. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, aw, oh what's the matter, Bruiser, does your head feel like crap? I'll bet it does, you deserve it. Should have done this or something far worse than this to you. Namely ending your life, by giving you a nasty stroke a long time ago after I got my powers and realized I could do that with them, the first time I came to visit. I should have just killed you back then when I had the chance to. No one would have been the wiser, about it, or how it happened. Oh well, better late than never, you'll be dead soon enough when Animal Control gets here, if not sooner."

After she gave the all clear it was safe now to look, Morph wondered what she had done to it exactly, that he had to look away or be hit with it too as well. Scratching his head curiously, as the dog shook and flinched and jolted and rolled away on the ground semi violently. "What did you do to it?"

"Gave it a seizure, you know, strobing flashing lights. A slow and painful attack, but it's good enough to keep it out of trouble. That's why we all had to look away, couldn't take the chance, anyone could be sensitive to that. Best of all, we get the pleasure of watching it, writhe in agony, before it gets the needle. I can also make sure when and if it recovers, it won't be able to see where to attack. Right now, in fact, why take the chance if it recovers and tries attacking us or anyone else again."

"The needle, psh, the needle is far too good for a demonic abomination like that! It needs and deserves all the pain and suffering it feels, not a sympathetic death, it would have gotten otherwise." No wait, I gotta show you something first. Then you can do it."

"What?" She was surprised to see how brave he was to do this especially considering, even if it was still under the seizure, he could still easily get bit or mauled.

"When this is all over, this is what I will be getting." Morph put a foot on the dog's belly when it flopped around onto its back, to hold it a bit steady as he 'put on' big rubber gloves. With his foot firmly on the beast, he used his left hand to yank up on its balls or nut sack, causing to the dog to yelp out in pain and surprise, as he not so gently wiggled them! "Oh yeah, now that's gonna be one big ugly hairy souvenir‼ Just look at them! I'm gonna be hanging these babies up on my rearview mirror, for all to see!"

"Ohh, that's just gross! Morph, you can't be serious, that you're going to keep them. Besides, they probably have flees."

"Oh, that's what the tanning and taxidermy is for, my dear. If I have to, I'll do it myself. I'll cut them off, gut them out, and hang them out to dry in the sun, and put two big marbles in them, and sew them up, and attach them with a string to my mirror." Morph was a bit exuberant as he gestured a bit as he showed her exactly what he was planning on doing to the dog's nut sack once he got it off the dead dog, as he squeezed and pulled up maybe a bit too hard especially on that last squeeze grip of its balls. If the dog weren't still recovering and or coming out of Jubilee's lightshow induced seizure, as seizures don't usually last much more than a few minutes than that surely would have done it! As the dog squealed and yelped out in pain! It was almost comical the way it had happened! It took off howl screaming in pain as it half blindly ran away and rammed hard right into the wooden fence with a big clunk! Still dazed from the seizure as well as partly sightless from Jubilee! They all laughed at that, it was so damn funny to see that dog nearly knocked itself right out! Cackling loudly still, "I'll have your balls by the end of the day, doggy, or real soon, you hear, you evil dumb mutt!"

"Oh, I can't believe you. Well, really, good luck, I really hope you do get your hairy souvenir."

"You don't have to, wish me luck…it's coming at us!"

The dog had shaken off most of the effects of the lightshow thanks to Jubilee, although still in pain, but that just drove it to try to attack and kill them, as it tried to launch itself at them! Only to be met with a blast of Jubilee's powers again in its ugly face! "You evil devil dog! That's it! I'm done! I'm stopping it. Shut your eyes one more time." Basting it first, then strobing her powers once more, to re-induce the seizure. Then after that, she flashes her powers brightly right in the dog's face as she temporarily or very possibly, and she frankly did not care, permanently blinded the mutt. "There, now even if you do recover from _that_ seizure attack, you won't be able to see. Or at least, long enough, for Animal Control to come here and easily capture you and give you the death needle you deserve. Good riddance, I say, to a nasty demon Pitbull. To Hell with you, literally. If you were any other type of dog, I would have just let the police and or Animal Control handle you, to come and pick you up to get rid of you. But not for an evil Pitbull, uh-uhh, no way, I just can't take the chance, no way. Since Animal Control has proven it already, to be quite incompetent fools, with you already, with not coming out here to deal with you. Besides, I'm sure, they would rather spare your life, rather than giving you the death needle, like you deserve, and sending you back down to where you belong, which is Hell!"

"Dontcha know; all dogs go to Hell, especially Pitbulls. According to Revelation, 22:15 it says, and I quote. Outside are the **_dogs_** and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. In other words dogs, are not welcome in the Kingdom of God, and in fact, go straight down to Hell! They are not to share in God's Glory. Especially with the murderous tendencies, all Pitbulls have to kill and maul. So guess what, you vile unclean abomination, according to God's Word, you're going to Hell, doggy!" Morph gave a nasty grin knowing the ultimate end, and demise, of this animal. In fact, the dog started screaming out as if was in agonizing pain! Too odd until one thought about it for a moment, why. Course Morph was also enjoying watching the bad dog writhing away on its back, shaking violently. No doubt blinded as well as under a second, but a much worse seizure attack. One that might possibly end up killing the freak of nature! Not giving a care about its anguished screams, or, why, it suddenly started screaming out in pain now, unless it had just broken something, due to the flipping and flopping around that it was doing because of the seizure. Any other kind of dog he would have felt sorry for it, and would have tried to put it out of its misery, but not for a Pitbull, it had earned it, any and all suffering. Anyhow, good riddance.

She too felt the same way, no compassion for this agony filled Pitbull. Any smaller dog, which could do no human or mutant harm other than a bad bite she might have had compassion for it. But her past about dogs had embittered her, towards almost all dogs in general, but especially for Pitbulls. As such she was enjoying all this too, as she smirked, and giggled, watching as the blinded mutt flopped around a bit, in its blinded seizure state, as it bumped and rammed into things, as it got up and dropped again. Slightly recovered it dragged its way back almost drunkenly when it did get up to walk a bit, to try to get home to safety, much to their amusement. "Come on; Morph, as much as I do love watching this thing suffering we better skedaddle on out of here before someone does figure out it was us or me."

"Yeah, good idea." The owner had to be around or be alerted by now if he or she was anywhere around the vacantly, best to get now, while the getting is good. "Maybe we should go take a drive and head back home."

"As long as my folks are coming with, yeah, let's get out of here." Jubilee looked warily back, as the dog dragged its way back home blindly, no doubt sniffing its way home. Something was eerily wrong, very wrong, about all of this, as it hit her hard, something was up. Namely, she was wondering _why_ the owner had not come out yet. It was almost too strange. Especially considering all the barking it was doing earlier beforehand. Then the noise it was making with its growling and snarling, and now after all commotion and namely the pain, they caused it to suffer. How much it was yelping out in pain, still, even now, no one seemed to be around or cared even. Too odd. Someone, especially the owner, should have been alerted and or called, by now. He shouldn't be too far out of the way; he seemed like a bit of a homebody, especially since she knew from the times, she lived and visited here, that he didn't usually go too far out of his way, at any time, unless it was in the evenings. Usually, that was to shop for groceries before the store closes and maybe go out for a drink at the bar. Odd, just too odd, since it wasn't even dusk out yet, it was still somewhat early for him to go out grocery shopping and or to have some booze at the bar. No one was even around, nor trying to stop them. So something was up, she could feel it. Maybe Morph did too, or it was just her womanly intuition, but more likely, was the Holy Spirit's warning. But regardless she now knew they needed to get out of here now. "Hurry, Morph, get your keys. Where are they? We need to get out of here, like now."

"In the bathroom, with the rest of my clothes." Suited him just fine, he wanted to rinse the dog saliva and germs off before they leave anyhow. In fact, he was doing that at the hose by the hot tub when Jubilee came rushing into her yard to find him there.

"Just go get your car keys, we can come back for your clothes later, and explain things to the cops, but we gotta go now, something just doesn't feel right. It's quiet, way too quiet."

"Right," he had no doubt about that that something was wrong or something bad might happen, and took off to go grab his keys. The preverbal calm, before the storm, was never a good thing. It was always best before the hurricane hit to get the hell out of there! You know, before you wind up in the twister; not knowing up from down, and left from right, when it hits!

X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS

Meanwhile, earlier, in a well-kept home inside a den of a certain F.O.H member, not far from where the dog was nearly destroyed, the 3 kids came to report to a fellow mutant hater, what they had seen and heard.

"I think they're like boyfriend and girlfriend, or something," one boy says.

"Or at least just friends," a second kid says, a girl. "He might have been using his powers, I think, he sounded like her parents. It was weird."

"Thanks for the tips. Bruiser was out in the yard when I left, and he's got a doggy door he can go in or out of into the backyard. So if she and her little friend are in fact mutants, and Bruiser smells or senses that they are, I have trained him to attack and kill mutants. Bruiser has been trained to find out mutants. My friends at the F.O.H love him to pieces. Hmm, come to think of it, he did snap at that girl the day we met, maybe he sensed it, she is one before she ever got her powers. Hmm, weird."

A third kid added another boy, "The guy has a weird name too. She called him Morph, and that can't be a normal name."

"It's probably a codename, probably has something to do with his powers. Thanks for the tips." He was over a mile almost 2 or so from his home visiting a fellow F.O.H member, and he had walked there. He was visiting and getting the info Intel, on how well their plan was going, to try to take down Xavier and his band of mutants. He suspected Jubilee was one of them. So he had told the neighbors to be on the lookout for her and let him know whenever she came home. Namely, so he can try to catch her in the act of using her powers for the proof that he needed to have her taken out. If he were to kill an innocent human, he would never forgive himself. But a mutant, however, he was very willing to let his dog do the dirty work, for him. Heck, he was even willing to commit it, murder, and get his hands dirty, to rid the world of one mutant. Now was his chance to find out, and sic his dog on her, as well as her little friend, if he was one too. More than likely. "I'm heading home. If she is there, I've gotta go deal with her, now, while I have the chance to. She infrequently visits, so she's probably staying at or living at that mutant house. Proof enough for me she is one."

"Hey, hold up a second, I got something, you can use." Going in the back, he came out with it fully loaded, but with the safety on at least, as he tosses it at him. "I trust you know how to use one of these." He nods. "Good, so now don't take any chances; let her and her two so-called family members, who harbored that mutant, have it. Anyone who harbors or raises a mutant; should be considered the trash of the Earth, to be done away with."

"You got it." Inspecting the weapon, though it was smallish enough it could be hidden on a person, it was big enough to have the essentials it needed. Namely having, "Got a silencer on it and an eyepiece scope, nice. It almost looks like a mini hunting gun."

"You could say that. Besides, it is used for more than just animal hunting you know. After all, mutants ain't nothing more than animals in my book, ready to be shot at." Looking back admiring a few trophy heads of animals he had shot. He would have liked to add a few mutant heads to that wall as well. So was glad to lend one of his babies to his good friend to use.

He nodded and took off rushing to get home and check on his dog. In fact, not too far from his home, he heard Bruiser, and what sounded like to him was Bruiser screaming in pain. Or at least some other dog in pain. Rushing home far too late to stop it, as it was over by then. But not too late to try to do something about it! He rushed in the door looked for and called for his dog, which blindly came to its master crashing into things as it smelled its way to its master. Shocked at what the hell happened to his beloved dog, he could only cry when he realized his dog was blind! "Bruiser, no, what did she, or they do to you? Oh, my baby, my precious baby, ohh, you can't see, can you," hugging his dog around its neck. "You'll be okay, daddy is here, daddy's here now, ohh and he won't let her or her family get away with whatever they did to you." Cocking the gun, full of rage. He hugged his dog once again and inspected the damage; he looked blind, as his eyes were now white. What was worse was the blood, as he freaked out as he looked to try to find out where it was coming from, as Bruiser had lapped up some of it already. Some of it was clearly coming from its face, it had looked smash in; his jaw even looked broken, on that one side. A few a few teeth were missing as well, on that size, and or broken or had chipped, which could account for the blood in its mouth. However for the most part all the blood on its face had come from the dog Bruiser had murdered minutes ago. There also seemed what was, he could only guess, were big knife marks, or slices, or stabs, on his head and neck. There was still some blood dripping from his head, and he looked dazed, but Bruiser had somehow blindly made it back inside the house through the doggie door. But what was far worse, were the endless agonized screaming howls of agony pain. Why was his son his precious fur baby screaming in such horrible pain? Those mutants, they did it, they did something to make his baby suffer, he knew, as he seethed with rage! Whatever harm they had done to Bruiser, he fully intended to do back to them in spades! "I'll kill them; I'll kill them all, all of them! Every last one of them‼ Mutant or not, for what they did to you, Bruiser, my son oh my baby boy! I wouldn't let any one of them live, after doing that to you, my son! I'll call my vet friend to take a look at you; she'll take good care of you." He called her personal hotline (cell phone number) directly to her. "You're already on your way out here now? Good! Bruiser is in agony, you gotta help him; he just won't stop screaming! I don't know what those mutants did to my baby, but I'll take care of them, you just get yourself out here fast, and take good care of my baby."

X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS, X-Men TAS

"Mom, dad, we gotta get out of here, now! Something bad is going to happen! I have a really bad feeling something really bad is gonna happen if we don't get out of here now! Get in Morph's car, right now, while he gets his keys."

"We can take our car, just give me a few minutes," Martha suggested as she had intended after hearing that to drive behind him. Right after she changed out of her swimsuit that is.

"No, don't, I said, we have to leave, now, before the owner shows up and goes crazy on us."

"Crazy," Martin asks. "What do you mean crazy?" Though he would defend her to the death and even deny what Jubilee and Morph had done was an act of cruelty and animal abuse. Even though it was self-defense, still, what they had done, though, it had seemed a bit malicious; but he didn't see it as such. Back when he was a young child, a vicious dog like that, was killed on the spot. People were put first, and their safety first and foremost, so there was little to no sympathy for an animal that was crazy or vicious, it was killed on the spot in almost all cases. Still, he still didn't see it, the very real danger, of what some sicko dog owners could be like nowadays, especially more so, Pitbull owners. As they could go vicious and snap at any moment, much like their nutso animals. But Jubilation knew, all too well!

"Deadly crazy, dad, I've read online how dog lovers can snap and turn deadly when you even slightly harm or threaten a dog. Even just verbally insulting, or insinuating the dog has done wrong. Or worse, the fact that Pitbulls are known killers, and they will go ape crazy some of them. Especially the Pitbull owners, they are as demented as their animals are, if not worse. If the owner finds out what we did to his devil dog, he's going to try to do the same to us, or way worse."

"You think?"

"I know! Just, go," she practically shoved him on his back to get him moving. "Even with the owner clearly guilty, if say I just blinded his dog, to try to defend myself from its attack, I can guarantee he would still snap. He would attack us for it, much worse than what we actually did to it. He's going to flip out and go ape crazy on us; I just know it, for what we actually did do to it. To all of us, not just me, and Morph, he will attack you both too, probably just out of spite. So that is why we gotta get out of here, like now!"

"All right, we better go, I agree, why take the chance, better safely out of harm's way than in it," he agreed.

"Exactly, now go get to Morph's car, I'll go get mom. Mom, we got to get out of here right now! Where are you?!"

He nodded and went out around the back door to look to see if he could spot the neighbor, if he was coming home, or already was home. "I wonder if the owner is home yet. Well, at least the mutt stopped whining; maybe it's already dead," smirks Martin as he looks around and listening carefully. "Oh spoke too soon, guess it is still suffering, oh well. All the more incentive to make sure it does get put down." It seemed like it was safe, to make his move very carefully heading to and trying to get into Morph's car, around the side of the yard, and to the front of the house. Although Morph's car was of course locked, obviously, but he had, in fact, doing that; had missed getting targeted too by the owner, who had come in the front door while Martin escaped around the back door. So Martin safely hidden crouched down by Morph's car, just waited for them to get out of the house safely too, while keeping a watch out for the crazy neighbor, in case he tries anything. But it was already too late.

It really was a bad idea for her foster mother to not take Jubilee's caution, and worse try to go get changed before leaving, rather than leave right away. The seconds ticking by felt like minutes very slowly going by, as her bare feet slapped the linoleum as she ran inside through house to go find her. It had seemed like it was all going in slow motion. Too slow. Far too slow. Every second brought the owner back home. If her guess was right, he would snap and try to do something really bad, they or at least she might not be prepared for. A fight yes, especially a physical one, Jubilee had been trained for that, and skilled at it. So she was already prepared for and could handle, and even could hold her own in one. Logan and some of the others had sought to that, in her X-Man training. But not so much for what had happened next. She had to be put to the test; for that matter, through the fire, to know if she was ready for that! Climbing the stairs, Jubilee found her where she figured she would be, about to get changed. "Mom, no! Get out of here, now, we need to leave, right now," she yelled out her caution. Her foster mom hadn't yet started to undress. In fact, she was only after getting some shorts or at least a long shirt on and her shoes, rather than get dressed, as Jubilee found her in their master bedroom. No time for that, as she wanted her to leave, exit the house, now. Jubilee felt it, an ice-cold chill, run right into the pit of her stomach. Too late. It was here, whatever, _it_ , was, it was here, or was coming to get them. Death was in the house and it wasn't nice! "We have to get out of here, before he comes! Just leave! Who cares if you are in your swimsuit! We gotta leave, right now, before that nasty Pitbull owner comes for us."

Cocking the gun, he approached without knocking, going through the front door, trespassing. The gun already aimed, with a venomous vengeance. He evilly smiled a moment when hears then sees them coming out the bedroom and down the stairs. He held the gun up trying to decide, just whom to shoot first, as they came down the stairs. Probably best to shoot the mutant first, and then the foster mother, as she would be an easy target with the mutant safely out of the way. Just had to wait behind the corner by the stairs, a few more seconds, to get a clear shot. He hadn't even thought about it, where the lady's husband was at, or the other posable mutant. After all, he had the one he had really wanted, especially considering, what he knew she probably did to his beloved dog! "You attacked and nearly killed my dog, and blinded him! You nearly killed my baby, my Bruiser! And he's still screaming out in agony, because of what you did to him‼ For that, I'll do the same to you, I'll kill you‼ I kill you and your whole damn mutant loving and harboring family! Starting with blowing off your ugly head‼" He shook with anger and a bit of fear, mostly anger, as he took aim at the mutant, to hit her in the chest or arm, to try to prolong her suffering, much like his dog was feeling, before nailing her in the head!

"Jubilee," Martha shoved her foster daughter out of the way, essentially taking the bullet for her as the gun went off‼ It hit its target. The silencer doing its job, so no one would be alerted to the sound of a gun going off, and call the cops, but it was too late, the cops were already called and were coming.

Despite the silencer, he still heard the gun going off, and before that the angered words! He was just panicked as he ran in and was horrified at what he saw when he ran right over to them! "Honey, no," he yelled too late! "You evil bastard! Jubs, down, now," and pushing her to the ground Martin covered her by standing between Jubilee and the shooter. "Don't hurt her! It's me you want, not my daughter! I did it, me, I'm the one who hurt your dog! So if you're going to shoot anyone, it's me you want. Not her. It's bad enough you shot at my wife, you evil son of the devil! But it's me you want to kill, not my daughter." If he could just unroll his fire, Jubilee would be safe, and that was all he cared about right now, was her life, her safety.

"Suits me just fine. I was wondering where you were, old man. I'd be really glad to kill you too, guilty or not. For harboring and raising a mutant!"

"Dad, no," Jubilee shook her head and realized something; he was just like her foster mother, willing to take the bullet for her. _They really do love me._ Yes, even though her foster dad wasn't all that brave, but this all changed that and her opinion of him. Only to realize one important fact. He had just come from, the bathroom, but…so that was… Not her foster dad, that was… "Morph, no, down, fall back," and shoved him as hard as she could, ready to face the dog owner head on! Just in time as something had snapped inside her and flashed, monetarily lighting up the room, protectively encasing the 3 of them, before it was all over. The gun sounded off 3 more times followed by a loud explosion! None of the bullets had even made their way much further past the gun barrel let alone to their intended targets; as they were all quickly annihilated midair! By then, the dog owner was flat out on the floor, and unconscious! He had been thrown back a ways all from Jubilee's powers as the weapon had blown up, along with the remaining bullets in it, on the dog owner! Morph was okay; so it seemed like, as he slowly shakily got up and looking like himself, as Jubilee sighed out as her powers dissipated. As the protective cocoon of her powers had come off of her foster mother and Morph and then her, after saving their lives‼

Yes, he was okay, stunned a bit; moaning while wondering what had just happened. It had hit, hard, in a manner of speaking. So whatever it was, it had caused him to not only revert to himself, but had made him reflexively revert to his real true teenage age form, before realizing this, and reshaping himself back to his adult looking form. "Ohh, aahh, ohh, what hit me? Oh man, no way, shoot, no." Morph as he changed back to his usual adult look caught it just as it dissipated back into her body, and she fell onto her hand and knees half in shock, and in fatigue, from a slight over taxation of her powers. Possibly fear too and the sheer astonishment of it all, what she had done with her new powers, or just her powers in general, he wasn't too sure, as was she, it seemed.

Overtaxed powers, yes maybe. Namely, because Jubilee did not know she could do that, and how to use them properly, if that could be stated, as it was still in somewhat of its nascence stage. The truth was she had used them her powers exactly like that before, she just didn't really remember, after what had happened that day to her. She only caught a half-sideways glimpse of the younger Morph, before he fixed himself to the adult version, before speaking. "My powers, I think." Jubilee was very shocked herself, at what she said and discovered about herself and powers. Something she had wanted to know, now she knew, somewhat. There it was. Jubilation, yes, had wanted to know, learn, what her powers could do, what was the extent, and for that matter, the uses of them. But no way in hell did she want to learn it like that!

"Whoa, what happened to him? Did you…?" Not that he didn't deserve it in some sense, but, still…if she had, it was still all in self-defense. The fact that the guy had trespassed in their home was right enough to defend their home and especially themselves, to the death, if need be, mutant or not. Especially when an intruder has a gun, specifically pointed at you!

"I don't know, and frankly, I don't care, since he shot my mom! He, oh God! Mom, mommy, no, please, no," she rushed to her side and cradled her lovingly in her arms. Morph wept and was quite distraught too, upon realizing the horrid truth. "She took the bullet for me, and now, oh no, oh God," she sobs. "She's; gone. What were you thinking, Morph, coming in as my dad like that?"

"Trying to save your life, that's what. Because I…"

"Save my life, by taking the bullet for me too?! How?! You may be a mutant just like me, but you're just as human as my foster parents are in taking a bullet and dying from it like she did!"

"I could take it. I had already made not only a bulletproof vest covering all over my body, but I had also hardened my skin underneath it to the toughest density I could shapeshift myself. I could have taken that, all of those bullets for you. I would have done it because I really…"

"But I didn't know that!" Sobbing loudly. "God, I didn't know…" As much as Jubilee knew about Morph and his powers, she really knew nothing about them nor his feelings and loyalty he had for his friends. She should have known. She knew all about it, what he had done for Logan, that night. Why wouldn't he do the same for her this night, when he cared that much for her?

The real Martin was now rushing into the house after hearing the explosion, and the police siren blaring off in the distance. "Martha no," he screamed as he saw the pool of blood on the carpet! "Oh no, what happened? Oh God, it's the dog owner. You were right, he, oh my God. Oh, Martha, no," sobbing in shock as he cradled her motionless body, fearing as Jubilee the worst had happened.

"Martin, Jubilee, unh, I, I'm alive. In a lot of pain, but alive." Before opening her eyes, Martha needed to know one more important thing, "Jubilee," she said softly. "Are you all right? Are-are you okay? Did he…?"

"No, I'm just fine, thanks to you and your sacrifice. I should be asking you the same thing. Oh, thank God you're alive! Why, why would you?"

Morph rubbed her back, "Why would any parent do that for their child, love, simple as that."

Wiping her tears away in relief, as she realized, she was going to make it, still choked a bit on her words from crying. "Oh-h man, I thought, oh never mind what I thought, all that matters is you're okay, you're alive, mom, that's all that matters to me, mom, is that you're still alive."

"I love you, both, so much," she shuddered from the shock and pain.

"No, stay awake," Morph patted her cheeks. "I rebuke the spirit of death, you have no right to her, or to be here, so be gone in Jesus Blood and Name! I will not side with you, we, will not side with you, at all. You are to leave right now, I order you to leave, now, in Jesus Blood and Name!" All the others nodded their heads in agreement; therefore, the rebuke was much stronger; as they, all came in agreement about it! "So you have no right to be here, now be gone, in Jesus's Blood and Name, go, now, back to Hell with you death," he says authoritatively! Then prayed over her in Tongues! Not only would Martha survive and live, but that also meant the dog owner would too, and he slowly painfully recovered as well, despite no one would be attending to him until the ambulance arrived, if even then!

"Dad, go get the kitchen or bathroom towels. We got to put compression and direct pressure on the gunshot wound. She's lost enough blood as it is; we have to stop the bleeding." As much as she hated being left alone and behind on most missions, there was some use to all of that. Medical know-how, she might not have learned otherwise, had it not been for her being forced to stay home to learn them. Namely, also, how to stay calm and not panic in situations like this, and to keep a cool head and wits about you.

"Right."

"Don't move, mommy, just stay awake and don't move around too much. The more you move the more blood you will lose, so lie still. I know it hurts but stay as still as you can, okay. W-where's the phone? Get the other phone, it's over there, Morph, and get an ambulance over here. Ugh, make that two of them I guess."

"Right, yes," she was so calm and knew what to do in the face of an emergency like this. He was so proud of her, and she just saved his life again, twice in one day. He was lucky to have her.

"Just hold on, mom, please."

"Don't stop calling me that," she says slowly and lovingly with a happy smile on her face.

"What, mom?"

She lightly nods with a big smile on her face. "That and mommy, I love it when you call me that, especially, mommy."

"Just hold on, mommy, you'll be fine, I promise, you'll be fine. I love you so much," She shook as time seemed to race ahead.

Author's Note: Did you think the dog was gonna do it? Or guess right the owner was in it for the kill, after what happened to his dog? Or guess somewhere in the middle? Speaking of the owner, you'll get his name in the next chapter.

Hey, guess what, if you made it, it is 26 pages long on MSWord, so, good for you! (I know because I cut and paste it into a new document and rerun the spellcheck and Grammarly after that, to catch errs) Especially if you are still reading it, I know I might have got a few less readers, aside from a few dog haters online. But this should pretty much be it for the massive dog hatred, aside from the next one which does dispose of the dog, and chapters that will mention past events.

I did need Jubilee's foster mother harmed in some way but not killed, and this was it. Also, I'm sorry it took so long but the next 2 chapters will be up a lot quicker since as for the most part they are done. I just need about a week or less to get the spelling errs out of it and whatnot, and polish it up, and then a week or two after that, the next one will be up. At least one more chapter after that and then it will be the big day for Jubilee. I have written ahead, I tend to do that, (which also explains why it took so long as well) so a lot of it is written and kinda already. So subscribe if you like, to know when I get a new chapter up. Please review too! Yes, I'll even take the negative bashing too, that, yes, I am a dog hater, to an extent.


	14. Justice Sings Its Song

Sorry it's out latter than I said it would be, but better out later and more polished, than never.

 ** _Justice Sings Its Song_**

A few minutes later, the Ambulance doors shut, as the Ambulance Attendants got in, and raced off to the hospital. The teens got in 2 separate vehicles, and followed the Ambulance; my cop car, right behind them, escorting them all the way there, to the hospital. Our sirens blaring off with theirs, with the 2 criminals tucked away safely in the back. But right now, before all of that, my partner and I are getting their statements as the Ambulance Attendants are busily attending to Martha Dobson, before rushing her off to the hospital to be looked after. As well as the criminal suspect in the shooting.

As far as the dog owner, his name unknown still, but he looked well enough. Sure, in a bit of pain from the explosion, or whatever had happened in there, not quite sure yet. But despite his burned and sprained, possibly broken wrist, he was still well enough to go to the Police Station, first, before he was taken to the Hospital for some treatment. Ultimately, though, he would be put in prison, awaiting his day in court. Hmmm, I might have to get the Fire Chief out here too, to inspect this odd explosion. That is if they did not, or could not explain to me, exactly, how it happened, enough to not warrant an investigation by the Fire Chief.

But right now, it seemed the criminal was far more worried and concerned over his filthy demon dog, that was ultimately going to be put down, regardless, than his own health, or anyone else's for that matter. Nor did he seem to care, nor was concerned over what he had done, nor how much trouble he was in, or was going to be in. It spoke to me volumes of how crazy people like they are, they had their priorities way out of whack, to not care about their lives, or anyone else's, for that matter. All they truly cared about was an animal, and what was worse, it was an illegal one, here, at that. I could only stand there looking at the suspect very angrily, shaking my head, waiting for a confession, wanting one, and an explanation. I didn't care from whom it came from, or how I got it, I just wanted them.

I had started the interrogation, while my partner had gone over to assess the victims and get the teenage girl's statement as to what happened. The young man seemed quiet; smart, not to say anything foolish that might incriminate you. He was there for morale sport as he held and hugged the teenager, who was still shaking from shock over what had happened. He seemed so cool and collected; however, a few minutes ago, we had already found out, it had been the other way around.

"Who are you and why are you in their house, with a gun?"

"My dog, my dog‼ Not me, my dog, I'm fine, I'm fine! I just want my dog! I want to see my dog! Where is he?! Where's my dog‼ What about my dog?!"

"I don't care about your damn dog! Animal Control is taking care of it, for now. Now, you are seemingly well enough. I just asked you a question and I do expect answers to those questions I just asked you. I want your name. I want to see some ID! Who are you, and why did you invade their home, with intent to kill?!"

"Because they killed my dog!"

"That is still no excuse, and that dog was as good as dead anyhow. Besides, it's still alive. So you just lied to me, and you know it! Not a good way to start off things. Now, what is your name?"

"I think, no, I know I know him from someplace, I just can't put my finger on it." I knew a lot of people. Sometimes their names were never known, or at times, I wouldn't remember them, for at least a short time, if I did know their names. But a face, and a voice, I'll never forget. "Yes, I know I know you from somewhere. Now, who are you?" I didn't get his name until after the mission; when I had to ID'd him from his picture in Cerebro, when Logan was still after tracking him. Logan was very ticked off that the creep had gotten away and was very adamant to get him, as he had gotten the other 3. I had last seen him hopping into a helicopter, with none other than Creed himself! Now, who is that guy? No matter, I would figure it out, or he would spill it. It was only a matter of time before I would remember him! "I have a photographic memory, so if you don't spill it to them, then I will remember who you are. I don't remember your name, yet, but it will come to me, to be sure. I do, however, know where I saw you last, it was 3 or 4 years ago up in…Canada, my friend, and I, we were on a…oh, ohh yeah, that's right."

"Yes, answer the question, what is your name? Or I'll just let him figure it out since he seems to know you."

The creep kept his mouth shut and refused to answer the question. No matter, I knew his name, it had come to me. "Zany…Don…no, Donavan Zane. Hee, hee, hee, hee, oh my friend is going to be **_really_** happy to know you'll be in the big house, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! After all, he was quite ticked off that you had gotten away." Well, since he was in trouble already, I might as well confess to what I knew about him, and get him into even more, bigger trouble, than he already is in. One less of those guys around would be great for us. Whether he was locked up for life, or even 50 years, or better yet, executed, for his crimes, better still. Regardless, what all of that will mean, are safer streets for us mutants. Besides, any crime syndicates that gets taken down, means much easier pickings, when the others soon crumble apart after it. So I sang what I knew about the creep. Well only partly, I would go give my full statement with or without Logan there with me, at the cop shop. But I wasn't going to go spill what I knew in front of them, for 3 damn good reasons, and I'm sure I could come up with a few more of them if I had thought of it more. Knowledge is power, and silence is golden. He only has to think I know he is guilty, and he will confess to either, his past crimes, and or this one; or I will just tell the cops here what Logan and I know about him. Secondly, I would not give my name because it could get back to me, in a lot of ways, and well, I would be mutant on the run. Well, not that I did anything wrong, but people like them are always after mutants like us, to kill us. As well with it, I would be putting my family in danger, and I'll be damned if I would ever let that happen to them. My family is very precious to me, so that means that I have to keep them all safe by keeping my identity safe; at least from evil creeps like them. My identity is my most precious resource, and gift and I intend to keep safe. That's why I go by Morph all the time. Enough info to let others know about my powers if you thought about it for a few seconds, but never enough info to know my real identity! Besides, the third one was, Donavan wasn't arrested, and we weren't quite safe yet, until the charges were laid on him, and was arrested, and preferably, behind bars, before I will tell the cops anything. "By the way, just so you do know, there are a few other much bigger heinous crimes he has committed. Ones I know he can be charged and jailed for, just to let you know."

"That I would like to hear all about. But if it was done up in Canada, it's not our jurisdiction, so the Police up there will have to handle it. However, you and your friend are more than welcome to come over to the Police Station, any time you feel ready to; and give your statements, as to what crimes he has committed. We can then send that right off to the proper Canadian Police Authorities to handle it there, or come and get him, or send him off. So is that correct, is that your name?"

"Yes, it's Donovan Zane, all right, happy now?!"

"Oh I knew it; I knew I knew you from somewhere." I had run-ins with the creep back 3 or 4 years ago, right when I first joined up with the X-Men. I had met the creep back in Canada, tagging along with Wolverine on a mission up there. A lot of them had been busted, with my help, but he and a few others, 4 in total, had gotten away. Logan did track the other 3 down, but Donovan Zane here still hadn't been found, probably all because he had taken off in that helicopter, with none other than the infamous, Graydon Creed. As good of a nose as Wolverine has, it was still very difficult or to next to imposable for Logan to try to track a guy that he hardly got a scent on, and had taken off in the air in a helicopter. Now, as to what they had been doing down there in Canada. Besides, of course, torturing a few mutants, partly just for the fun of it, as disgusting as that sounds. But mostly that was for getting some information out of them, as to where other mutants are, and their family members, and whatnot, and yes, unfortunately even killing a few of them, murder. But the main thing, though, they were doing up there, along with a few of his buddies, they were all setting up a big new F.O.H headquarters down there. I'm surprised the evil murderous creep didn't recognize me. But, then again, maybe the creep doesn't have a great memory as I do. Maybe it was my hair color change. I did have black hair back then after all, and now it was a dark brown, a chestnut brown, maybe that's what's throwing him off of who I am, or rather when he has seen me last. "Donovan Zane, so yeah, I guess that means, you are good buddies then, with the Friends of Humanity, aren't you? Right on up there alongside good old, Graydon Creed, right, and all the other, nutjobs, just like him, aren't you?!" I had to wonder if that would do it; if it would trigger the memory of me. But no, maybe not. Probably a good thing. Since he hadn't been arrested or at least handcuffed as of yet, as Donovan was still cooperating with the Police so they had yet to arrest him for anything. Maybe it was due to his injured hand they couldn't cuff him.

"So what if I am?"

"I rest my case; he's mutant hater and hunter, no doubt. Crazy." Of course, I already knew that from the run-in I had with him. I just wasn't going to tell him that. As tactless as I can be at times, I knew enough from my papa to know when to keep my big mouth shut, for the most part.

"Yes, damn straight I am! She hurt him; him too, I'll bet! They hurt him, and tried to kill him! What is so damn funny, mutant?"

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, you just agreed with me, and that proves, it, that you are crazy, hee, hee, hee, hee, you said it yourself, you agreed, yes damn straight I am, crazy that is; a crazy mutant hater!"

"Good one," guffaws Jubilee. No wonder why the creep was a homebody, trying to keep a low profile, trying to keep under the raider, no doubt. Stupid idiot though, if you are a wanted criminal, you don't usually try to incriminate yourself even worse. Ah well, the old saying is true, stupid is as stupid does. "Unbelievable, so he's buddies with Graydon Creed huh. So are you friends with him?"

"Yes, of course, I am. He's my hero! He founded the Friends of Humanity, after all, to hunt down mutant abominations like you."

"You want to talk about abominations, huh, you own one, that dog of yours, and God calls them that, several times in the Bible. Takes an ambition lover to know one," Jubilee verbally slaps back.

"Hey, maybe we should tell him all about Graydon Creed, his so-called hero," I knew all about it from one of my many long talks with Wolverine.

"Oh yes, lets, by all means, let's inform him, what he obviously does not know. Might make him change his tune, about liking mutants."

"What of it, mutant?! I will never stop hating mutant scum like you two!"

"But you might hate Graydon Creed, you know, Graydon Creed Junior. You know, he's the son of Sabretooth, or really rather, it's actually, Graydon Creed Senior. Got named after his old man. You know, the feral mutant, killing machine, Sabretooth, perhaps you have heard of him, hmmm?"

Morph continues where Jubilee left off. "Oh, don't look so shocked, it's true. What's worse is Graydon Creed also has a mutant mother too! Maybe you heard of his mother, she goes by Mystique, a shapeshifter known as Raven Darkholme. Also an assassin. Guess that's maybe where he gets all of his nasty bloodthirsty tendencies, you know, from his two nasty mutant parents! Guess you won't be taking rides in Creed's chopper anymore after this, huh." He looked shocked and surprised to hear the truthful news, but then…

He was indeed very shocked and surprised upon hearing this. He hadn't known. _What does he know about me, and could he be…?_ Then he just got angry. _It's lies; it has to be lies! To try to cover up what they did to my dog._ Yes, his mind had indeed snapped! "Shut up you 2 liars, that's just lies! Besides, you killed my dog, you hurt him, now arrest them! I can still hear him. He's still screaming in pain, because of what you did to him!"

"I will do no such thing to them. So what, if they did hurt him, it's a Pitbull, they're against the law here, if you didn't know." (Actually, this is a very true fact, they are banned in Westchester County New York; it's a fact. I wasn't making any of that up, what I had written, for the story; it is, in fact, the truth. I researched it, yes, I do my research! I pride myself on putting down the truth and the facts, or at least as close to it as I can. Though you might tag me out it isn't where the X-Men live, but there are dangerous dog bans all over New York too, at least to certain degrees at least.) Shaking his head at the criminal. "So frankly, I really don't care what they did to your dog. As long as they and everyone else is safe and okay. That's what really matters to me. The same should be said of you, but you're just a crazy dog nutter."

"Dog nutter?"

"He said dog nutter," Jubilee agreed with a light chuckle and a grin to go with it. So they had a fellow dog hater cop. Possibly a new friend.

What he said next confirmed what the teens heard. "So who cares what happened to your devil dog. Especially considering we were coming here to take it away from you, to have it destroyed since it has been reported that is dangerously vicious. So I was coming here, personally, to destroy your land shark, myself, if Animal Control doesn't do it. Want to know, why, I was coming here to do that? It's because, I'm amusing, from their report, that you totally failed to uphold the laws, to keep your pet safe from harming other innocent people, like them, amongst many other charges. Like your dog, obviously being underage, to be permitted to keep it. Let alone the fact, that it hasn't even been neutered, yet. I was informed by dispatch, on quite a few charges against you, to inspect for, oh, and believe me; I will be inspecting them all. I'll be back here, later on, maybe even today, after you are in jail, going through your whole house, with a search warrant, to see what other misdeeds, you can be charged with! But right now, your dog is going to be put down."

"No‼"

"Yes."

It was show time now probably, as we get up, as we're probably going to have to go outside to watch all of this. They were certainly not going to bring a dog like that inside, that's for darn sure. So it was either going to be done in the back of the Animal Control truck, or on their front lawn, is where it will happen. So we got up and followed the cops. "Can I have its balls, after you kill it, please?"

"Later, after it's been fully examined and tested, but I don't see why not. Though I have no idea what you would want with them, or for that matter, why."

"Souvenir. Two big ugly hairy ones! What are those, on your mirror? Oh, those? Those are my bull's balls, Pitbull balls that is! They're banned here! Any questions?! If I see them hanging on your dog, I'm gonna cut them off!"

The female cop just started laughing! "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, oh this kid is trouble, I think."

"No, he's just got a demented sense of humor, like most of us. I'll make a note of it, to have the balls sent off to you after they are all done with butchering the beast," the male cop chuckles.

"You can't kill my dog! My dog is innocent! If it attacked, it was because of them, and what they did to it! She or they blinded him! I think, she or he, or they stabbed him as well, not to mention, bashed the side of his face in. Well, she or they did something, to him; I know it! Don't arrest me, I'm innocent, I was just protecting my dog, arrest her, that evil mutant! And him too, I know he must be one too, and behind it somehow too! Arrest him too! I want my dog! They hurt him, they tried to kill him! You heard what he wants to do to my baby! I want my baby‼ I want my dog‼"

"Protecting your damn dog but trying to kill me, and shooting my foster mother, liar! You just wanted to kill me, just admit it! Not to mention you weren't even home at the time, so quit making up lies and excuses for your demonic Pitbull."

Donovan retorts in rage, "If anything you and your kind deserved to be killed!"

"That is enough! One more word out of you like that and I will shoot you myself! Go get his damn dog and bring it over here, on the front lawn, and you had better have damn good control over it, or I, will shoot it, on the spot." The warning is stern; and unyielding, I meant business! The Animal Control Officer nodded obediently and brought out Bruiser, who she had captured earlier, with ease. Bringing him over in a catchpoll noose, Bruiser was bought over, thrashing away, as he growls, snarls, and snaps away angrily, still howling in agony. The kids and Donavan headed out to the front yard as the dog was brought over in a noose, but not muzzled. Bad idea, very bad idea! "Where is its muzzle? It needs a muzzle on it. It's already going crazy as it is, now put one on!"

"I can't, it's…."

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses; safety first, so put a muzzle on him! You should not have even brought him out here without one on! Not to mention it is the law anyhow; and you should know that, with a dangerous dog like him! Now go and get one and put it on him, or else!"

"It can't go on its face, because they hurt him so badly, so that would be cruel of me to…"

He looked over at his partner, and gestured with his head, "Go; and get it. You are very close to losing your job," I sternly warn her, as one was fetched and quickly put on it, by my partner. "I really don't care if that dog is in excruciating pain, and you feel it will be cruel, to put a muzzle on it, and it causes it more pain. Hardly! Besides, with that dog in pain, means it makes it 10 X more likely to bite and attack, someone, because it is in pain! Besides, if you're so worried about it, I assure you, that it won't be in pain, for much longer here." Now that the dog's jaws were safely inside the muzzle and there was some relative safety, to do this, even though it was still screaming out in pain, it was time to interrogate. Although I already knew it was his dog, I still asked him, "This him, is this your dog, your Pitbull?" Everything needed to be documented for the courts and written down in the statements. We had our cop car cameras all rolling, and we also had personal surveillance cameras on us also roiling before arriving on the scene. All of this would be evidence for the courts to use against him.

"Yes, that's my baby, my Bruiser. Look at what they did to him! Just look!"

"I intend to. Bruiser, huh, gee, I wonder why you named him that. Hold him still, and be ready just in case," I forewarn my partner. To stand at the ready, to shoot this thing, if need be, if she started to lose control of it or it got loose, to shoot it on the spot. I too took no chances, as I did the same, I had my Taser in hand, in case it got free, my gun not too far out of reach either! My partner was right there as she held out her Taser as well, her gun by her side. I didn't count this fresh blood that was from the teens no doubt. (Actually, most of it was from the Dachshund Bruiser had killed, but we didn't know that of course, yet.) I was looking more specifically at the older stuff, to confirm what we were told by dispatch. However, I did also look at the damage the teens had supposedly done to it. But right now, I was focused on all previous injuries the dog had sustained. So with a visual inspection, I could see it, what looked like old injuries and scars from a dogfight. I knew enough that these weren't your typical ones; a dog might get from an encounter in the dog park from another dog or such. No, these looked a bit more heinous, more like, or rather exactly, what had been reported to us by dispatch. There were some old scars and some slightly fresh ones too, still healing, from a bullfighting or dogfighting arena. I knew, for sure, it was that because there were so many of them, not just 1, or 2, there were several of them, bites, and injury marks, and chunks missing, a few bald spots as well, all over its body. It was obvious it wasn't a normal dogfight, because there were harsh different scars, not just on its muzzle, but also on its body, even part of its ear had a chunk missing. Not to mention, that his ears had also been altered too, for inside the fighting ring. As far as the fresh injuries, well, I chalked that all up to self-defense. If there was any animal abuse, it was all clearly on the owner's part for that. For letting his dog fight, however, it was fighting; be it in a dogfighting, or in a bullfighting arena, or both. Either way, both are illegal. It explained everything, what happened here. Namely, why it had or intended to attack. It was trained to do so and loved to fight and attack. So, therefore, obviously, the kids had only acted in self-defense, with whatever they had done to it, no doubt. Killing it, yes; really was the best option, maybe they couldn't or didn't finish the job, but I would now see to that. But first, I just needed to take a few pictures of it, to document it all, with my regular camera. The dog snarls and snaps with each click of my camera it hears, even for the back shots, and it lunged at me a few times. The dog was clearly a big danger to everyone. It is a red zone case; it had to be put down. Now I could see why the kids had acted as they did to try to kill it, or at least try to subdue it. Done with picture taking, I gave my conclusion based on the evidence. "Yes, no doubt about it, it's true, this animal was abused all right, no doubt about it."

"See, my baby is innocent."

"No, they are innocent! They only acted in self-defense, to maybe kill your dog, because it is vicious and or was attacking them, or trying to at least. You, however, are the one who is committing the animal abuse‼ You deliberately let your dog fight, putting it in harm's way, and by doing so, you, yourself, have sentenced this Pitbull to death, by your own doing! This dog cannot be rehabilitated, nor should it." Not that I would let it anyhow, be rehabilitated, but that was beside the point. As much as I'm sure the Pitbull loves to fight, the jerk had sentenced his dog to numerous sicknesses and in doing so, a short cruel life, by letting it fight. Not to mention all of the laws he had broken and felony charges for his crimes. I was going to so enjoy incarcerating his ass, for his crimes! At this point, I got one of my set of handcuffs out to make the arrest. "You have the right…"

"No! That's not true, look what they did to his face. If he attacked, it's only because of what they did to him! Did you see what they did to him! It's not his fault if he attacked them!"

"Yes, I saw that." It didn't matter what the supposed mutants had done to it, and frankly, I did not care too much. Maybe he was just using it as an excuse, or lie, to cover up for the fact that he was in the wrong, shifting the blame to another, it was a narcissist's game. Because if he were obeying the law, as he should have been, then the dog would have been spayed or in this case, neutered, as the law required. So I didn't care too much right now, even if it was an act of cruelty, it is clear to me it was all done in self-defense, as far as I'm concerned. As something seemed, just really, off, about all of this. Even it wasn't, self-defense, and they had tried to beat it to death, it still didn't matter, to me, if what they did do to it, was cruel or not, it still probably was self-defense all in all, with it snapping at one or more of them, and I would and had called it as such. Especially with the owner clearly at fault here, in not taking the proper precautions, to at least try to keep it away from attacking anyone. Yes, I admit it; I am a bit biased when it comes to these types of dogs. So I will side with the humans, that they were only just protecting themselves and others. Still, I will put it into my statement, if I do find out they do indeed have mutant powers that they had still only used them in self-defense to try to kill and or subdue the dog until the authorities came to do away with it. Besides, I know vigilante work when I see it. They wanted to no doubt make sure the job got done, right, namely, the dog killed, before it attacked them or anyone else for that matter. I couldn't blame them, if in their place; I too would have done the same thing, powers, or no mutant powers. I too would have beaten and or shot the dog or what have you, to death, or close to it. Especially if no one from Animal Control had come out here to come to get rid of this vicious dog before it got out of hand. I couldn't count the number of stories I read and one of them had hit home with me one day when a Pitbull snapped and attacked a relative of mine. "Looks like the call from dispatch was indeed right, this dog was indeed fighting, be it in a dogfighting and or a bullfighting arena, no doubt about it. Under that very bit evidence, and more, I'm placing you under arrest, for dogfighting with your illegal underage Pitbull," and this time I fully read him his rights and made the arrest! My partner took it from there, to get him in the back, or have him wait, better yet, on the ground, for what was about to happen, to his evil Pitbull. But right now, there was a little bit more interrogating to do!

"No, please, don't kill him, it's not his fault!"

"Even if it wasn't, his fault, as you claim, the fact that it has recently attacked, or tried to, means that it has to be put down and also inspected for rabies. Amongst other things. So, go get it, and do it, right here, and right now."

"What!?" Knowing what the Officer was asking for. Yes, they had them in the back, for such cases. But one look from the owner made her flinch and think twice. She saw dollar signs sprouting up wings and flying away. So much for being paid under the table. So much for the shelters being supported by Donavan Zane to keep quiet about his illegal fighting Pitbull, and look the other way.

"You heard me, get the needle, I want to you to put it down, right here, right now. And I want to watch it get done, in front of the owner. I also want to make sure you do your job because frankly, I don't think you were, at all. Something is just fishy about all of this." With the criminal now subdued and under the submission of my partner, I walk back in the house where they are busily treating Martha to ask a few questions. "Why haven't any of you called Animal Control on him, and get this dog taken away earlier?" There had to be a good reason, right. I wanted to find that out.

"I have called a few times, but they either didn't come and or didn't do anything about it. I was also unaware of the law regarding these things."

"What about your wife?"

"Same," Martin spoke for his wife who had an oxygen mask over her face and was out of it now with the drugs for the pain she had been given. They had been working on her to stabilize her more, to be able to move her and put her into the back of the Ambulance to transport her to the local Hospital for proper treatment. Also, more importantly, stopping the bleeding. Jubilation's knowledge had, for the most part, done that, as the crew did the rest, and also set up the IV line in her, as well as giving her some pain management. She was still in shock, and was a wee bit unstable, as they worked on her to try to stabilize her a little more from the shock, to safely move her, and not lose more blood than she had already had. "We both called. But the thing is we both had no idea about the law that they were banned, or we would have called sooner. Namely, after he moved in. We came here oh, 8 or 9 years ago, from Vancouver. So Martha and I we didn't know about the laws here regarding Pitbulls. And considering we aren't dog people, anyhow, no interest to know, really, we were never going to get one. Otherwise, yes, we would have called about it right away. But I wonder now if anyone would have done anything about it, even back then, considering." He was growing very suspicious now too, of what Morph had suspected, about Animal Control getting paid under the table to look the other way.

Sighing, "She's lost a lot of blood, but at least it has stopped. You daughter really helped save your wife's life, with helping to stop the bleeding. Still, she will probably need a blood transfusion. Do you know her blood type by any chance?"

Actually, Martin had the same second rarest blood type as her, B- when they both donated when the community held a blood drive. "Same as mine, we're both B- so if she needs my blood I'm very willing to donate my blood. We should really have more than 1 blood drive a year."

"I agree. We can never have enough, for emergencies. Especially if it is a rarer blood type such as yours and hers. We can't do it here, but we can sure get you all set up for it though, so as soon as you arrive, they can start the transfusion. You'll ride in the back with her, so we can get you in there right away."

"Honey, can you do me a favor, sweetheart," he called out a bit loudly so that she would hear and come inside for a moment. She wasn't far from the door anyhow and came in right away.

"Sure, anything, dad, what is it?"

"You're going to have to drive my car to the hospital since I'm going to be riding in the back of the Ambulance. Plus I'll probably be too dizzy and unstable to drive for a few hours, after donating my blood. Plus I will be staying over there, but I will need my car."

Nodding, "Of course, no problem. Morph can take his car and I'll take yours, and we can then figure it out from there. As for me, I too would have called the cops had I known they are illegal, here. I had only found that out today when Morph told me they are illegal to own here. That's why we called because it was starting to ram up against the fence ready to attack. It could break through, at any given time the way it was going at it. It always growls at me whenever I come home for a visit and I go in the yard and it's out. As well, as, charge at the fence and ram up against it, sometimes. But nothing like it was doing today; I'd say it officially snapped today. So yes, we had planned to kill it, or at least, to subdue it, for our safety and anyone else's safety. Especially since it was issued the death penalty, we had to make sure it got done and done right. We can't list how many horror stories about Pitbulls and what they do, and way worse, literally getting away with murder, just because it's a dog, a Pitbull."

"Oh I hear ya; I'm on your side here about that, it's also why I'm here. I have no compassion for a Pitbull, none. It's such utter foolishness to get one, or more of them, let alone, to keep them. Oh, and just so you know; if in your places, I would have killed it or tried to too, if I was told someone was going to come out here to get rid of it. I too would not take a chance." They head back outside.

"Cool. So, yes we had planned to use our powers to make sure it does get killed, so it doesn't get rehomed. My best guess was it was gonna get sympathy from Animal Control here, and get put in a different no-kill shelter when they are legal to own and then get rehomed. Then it will revert to its killer instincts in another victim's home, and well, I don't need to tell you, what they can do."

"We only did what we did, since Animal Control here isn't, or refuses to, do their job for some reason. Hmm, got an excuse for that? Shouldn't you know they are illegal here, and for that matter be doing something about it; namely coming out here to catch it and then destroy it?"

"My questions exactly, Miss, my questions exactly. In fact, they do know; they have to know it; it is all part of their job, to know the laws and bylaws when they go deal with dogs. Any Pitbull who acts aggressively has to be put down or surrendered to Animal Control be put down. Well, we'll fix that right up, now, because we'll do that now, right here, and right now. You just made our job a little easier, not to mention, safer, in doing that, in subduing it with your powers, so thank you."

"You can't." She tried to make the excuse; maybe she could get him to the vet, stitch him up, and still be able to get the dirty money she was receiving, for saving his dog. A little bit of advertising over at GoFundMe and a few a skewed words, and there would be hundreds, upon thousands, of dog lovers, and especially Pitbull lovers, scratching at the door, whining to empty out their pocketbooks, to try to save him. Which she would try to get to fall into her pockets and the shelters. Mickey the Pitbull had proven that that people would wholeheartedly support, and protect precious Pitbulls like him. They would even pray that the dog would be healed of cancer, as they pour out their wallets, purses, and their prayers for a dog who was mislabeled as aggressive and or abused. This would be no different she was sure of that. "B-because, we do that, later, at the shelter, not…"

"I said now! I want this animal tested for rabies ASAP! That means I want it to be put down, now and sent off! Besides, I'm not taking any chances with a Pitbull, and having it attacking someone else like it's trying to do! It's vicious, and I don't know if it's just nasty because it's just a Pitbull that has snapped, or if it is sick from rabies; or both. Guess what, do you want to know, why, I was called here to this specific case, hmm? Want to know? It's because I'm also an Animal Control Officer, as well as a Police Officer. So guess what, like it or not, I have a duty to protect the citizens, and that also includes protecting them from a vicious Pitbull and a rabies outbreak. It's also after what dispatch had heard from their reports that I had to be called out to deal with it. Personally. Because they knew that I would come here and do the job, right, because they know, I will never have any mercy on a Pitbull or any pit-mixes, or for that matter their owners, or pet-parents," he mocks that last bit. "Especially after what happened to my own family member! Now go get the needle! Or he won't be the only one riding in the back of my car! Don't think I won't; I may be an Animal Control Officer, but I'm also a Police Officer, so I outrank you! Now go get it, and do it, right here, right now," I ordered her! Yes, I know I'm a bit prejudice, in a way, but my prejudice does not lie in the color if the skin, no, just my rampant hatred of dogs, especially for Pitbulls, and lawbreakers. I have a surviving relative that had been very brutally attacked by one of these vicious creatures, so much so that he almost didn't survive it! Not to mention that his face was hardly recognizable, and the thousands of dollars spent, fortunately, paid out from the dog owner's pocketbooks, for the reconstructive surgeries he needed. So I had made it from that day on, my sworn duty, after seeing and witnessing that and killing it, to take the Animal Control course to become one. That way I could be called out on any dog-specific cases especially Pitbull ones, to come to deal with the dog/s and or owner/s. But when it came to Pitbulls like this, as I hold it in the catchpole and noose, there was always only one remedy in all these cases. It is to exterminate any and all of them, and fine the owner/s top dollar the charges they deserve. I also made sure anyone who tries to make an attempt to save his or her dog after a ruling has been made, AKA contempt of court. They would be arrested, if not already so, and fined and put in jail, or fined more, and receive a longer stiffer sentence put upon them, for the contempt of court! I'm without mercy when it comes to these devil dogs, and their owners, for the most part, in most cases.

"No! You can't do this to him, he didn't do anything wrong! He was just protecting me!"

"You weren't even around! If you really were home, as you claim you were, then you would have come out, long before we had to defend ourselves, from you vicious evil mutt. So stop making up lies, and excuses, to defend your devil dog! Besides, you shot my mother! You tried to shoot me, you evil bastard! You broke into our house to do that evil thing! You're just a dog worshiper, that's all you are! So stop making up excuses, you're just evil, just like your dog," Jubilee cries as Morph holds her tightly, as Morph shakes his head in disgust.

"He was just protecting the house from bad people, like, like..."

"Like what? Us maybe?" The owner nods. "Yeah, let me guess, you trained your dog to sniff out mutants like us, and to attack them huh. We were only defending ourselves and you shouldn't have even had that dog in the first place. They are illegal here‼ Typical dogger, typical Pitbull dogger going crazy to defend their mauler when they are even slightly insulted. Even just insinuating that their dog is a killer and their owner will snap just like their Pitbull. You disgust me," Morph spits, not literally, just verbally at the dog owner. Spot on, as usual, tried and true….

"You son of a…I'm gonna kill you‼"

The second officer held the Pitbull owner, slash criminal back. "If you don't settle down, I'm gonna Taser you! Humph, that's proof of cause right there. Ha, ha, ha, ha, well, guess it is true, Pitbull owners, are as crazy as their dogs!" She wiped the spit off her face after being kicked and kicked at, as one foot landed to her thigh, and that was it! She pulled out her Taser and shocked the guy right then and there, as he tried to kick her again! "Looks like we can add an assault charge to an Officer of the Law, to your big list of crimes Mr. Zane!" While Donovan Zane was down and being shocked, the dog despite being blinded, went nuts, but it was quickly whacked hard over its back by her partner with his nightstick baton! "I told you I would Taser you if you didn't settle down! You are just digging your grave deeper. Stupid dog, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, well, that will settle him down some. At least until it's put down."

The male Police Officer gave the Animal Control Officer, a look, and she scurried off to get the needle, well 2 of them, one was sedation, the other one was the one to put him to sleep. Well actually, one was an under-dose of sedation, to relax him, and certainly not enough to kill him. The other was just to knock him out, to sedate him to sleep. Actually, it was tranquilizer, what they used in their dart guns to tranquilize some dogs like him. However, she had filled up the needle with that, rather than the barbiturates they used to put animals down. Certainly not lethal enough doses, of either, to accidentally overdose Bruiser to euthanize him. So yes, she could say she had 'put him to sleep', even if it wasn't the kind that the cop wanted. Hopefully, she could get him in the back and get him off to a vet out of town someplace, to have them care for him there. That mutant did have a good idea; she had to admit, taking him to a no-kill shelter out of town, where they are legal to own. Yes, she could do some things, but nothing like a real vet, like surgeries. Basic stitching up and dog first aid, and shots and some stuff like that, was all she could do. There was also one other thing she could and was qualified to do, this. "Here, here are the needles." To put a dog down. The owner was giving her a nasty glaring evil look as Bruiser still struggles in the catchpole noose in male cop's grip, over what was about to now finally happen. She only nodded mouthing, 'It's okay, trust me,' and sighs. The Animal Control Officer sighs while finding a good 'vein' to stick it into the dog but was really looking for a nice fatty pocket to partly put some of the medicines into the dog, and squirt out the rest, onto his fur. Just to be sure, she didn't accidentally euthanize Bruiser. Maybe doing this, Bruiser would wake up and attack someone, like those mutants, it hated so much. (By thinking this way, she was thinking and acting just as stupidly as the owner was acting. If Bruiser did that, he would be automatically shot on the spot. The male cop already had his gun trained on it, ready to draw and shoot.) But more than likely, he would just sleep and then she could take it to the vet, as the cop wanted, but just out of town.

"Go on; put the dog down, so the owner can watch it all, what happens to their dog, when they break the law and bring an illegal animal here in my city and town when there is a ban on them. They get to see it being put down. I'm tired of listening to it howling in pain anyhow. Not that I really care anyhow, but, why is it howling in agony anyhow? What exactly did you do to it? Also, I would like to know, how the explosion happened, if any of you know."

"That was me, actually, my powers, and his gun."

"You create explosions with your powers," the female officer asks taking handcuffed Donavan over to watch what was going to happen to his dog. All looked copasetic, but she was far from killing it still, as the law requires.

Even Martin was carefully walking out, as he came over to watch this. Too bad wifey couldn't watch it, well, maybe she would. He tried to wake her up to watch this. She finally did rouse out of her shock to open her eyes, look over, and watch. It was a few minutes later, as she was being put in the Ambulance, which was just fine, as by then, it was happening, the show. "Honey."

"In a sense yes, but not like that. Energy plasmoids, I like to call them fireworks. Sure they can explode, but…" Jubilee shakes her head.

"It's all right just tell them what happened to your powers," Morph encourages with a smile.

"I think it's a new aspect of my powers, maybe I did it before, but I didn't remember it, until recently, when my instincts kicked in, to protect him and my mother and myself with them. Whatever it is, it's still developing. I encased them in my powers as Donavan shot off his gun, and boom‼ That was the explosion on impact, I annihilated the gun. I think like, it backfired I guess, and it exploded. I know he fired a few times but then there was the huge boom, explosion. I guess it was the bullets and gun blowing up. I'm really honestly surprised he still even has his hand. I know what stupid people can do with actual fireworks and what they can do to certain body parts, this was way worse, and he still has his hand attached. I think you need some med…"

"I don't care about my damn hand; all I care about is my dog!"

"Typical dogger," Jubilee, Morph, and the male cop say, and giggle. One of the Ambulance Attendees had tended to his hand but it was just second-degree burns at the most, and a badly sprained, maybe a broken wrist. Fortunately for him, that was all it was. Jubilee was right on that, he was lucky he still had his hand, attached, that could have been much worse off than what it is. So that also meant he was well enough to come to the police station, first, for questioning, before going to the hospital to be looked after. Actually, maybe that should wait a night or two, and maybe a trip to the insane asylum might be a better fit for him. After all, he was certified!

"All right, so it wasn't a gas leak, so the Fire Chief doesn't need to be called. Hopefully, your homeowner's insurance will take care of it. It's not that bad, a little scrubbing, some plaster, and some new wallpaper or some paint, will fix that right up, but still, you might be covered. Anyhow, what about you, got anything to say, namely why it's howling in pain before I shut it up permanently?"

"Yes, I struck it with my powers, before it attacked Jubilee; I hit in the muzzle. That thing had come out of nowhere after it took off."

"How did it get out of the yard in the first place," the female cop asks. "You didn't let it out did you?"

"No it had jumped the fence, right between us, and Jubilee nailed it with her powers to defend me and herself at the same time. Jubilee had my back; much like you, cop partners, have each other's backs. Anyhow, we were all looking for it after it took off, and it just came out of nowhere, after a few minutes of searching for it. When it came running over, it was with the intent to kill and attack. I just reacted and I used my powers on its face. That's why its face is all smashed in, like that, that was from me, protecting Jubilee from being mauled."

"All right, so it was all in self-defense, as I thought."

"Obviously you two weren't attacked, but it has a lot of blood on its face. So is that from what you did to it, or her?"

"Neither of us, it was blooded up like that, a lot worse when it came out after us out of nowhere. Sure, I added to it when I whacked it in the face, but… Oh, man. It was gone for like 3 to 5 minutes while we looked for it, so in that time, it might have attacked someone."

"I can check," clicking on her Hand Talky. "Dispatch, has there been any more recent reports of another dog attack, specifically a Pitbull, yet? Or any 911 calls concerning a dog bite or an attack by a Pitbull?"

"No."

"Keep us informed."

"Roger."

"So I take it that's why it's howling in pain now, because of you striking it with your powers?"

"No, odd…ohh! Oh, I know why, and this just proves God's Word is true; thee Truth. I quoted Scripture at it, and it started howling in pain."

The female officer started laughing, "Wh-a-ha, ha, ha, ha, ha-t? What did you say to it? What could you possibly, say, to a dog, to cause it this much agony?"

"Yes, this I would like to hear too." This could be very useful to use against, any dog, not just Pitbulls if it caused this much pain and suffering. It might even deem anyone with compassion to put it down, even if there is nothing physically wrong with it; if it is howling out, in misery, to put it out of its misery. I could use this, whatever it is!

"I told the mongrel, all dogs go to Hell, especially Pitbulls. According to Revelation, 22:15 it says, and I quote. Outside are the **_dogs_** and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. In other words dogs, are not welcome in the Kingdom of God, and in fact, go straight down to Hell! Dogs are not to share in God's Glory. So that means they all go to Hell. Especially with the murderous tendencies that all Pitbulls have to kill and maul. It is murder, when they kill and maul people and other animals, to death, so, therefore, they are murderers, and therefore, without forgiveness, they go straight to Hell." The Pitbull started howling in louder more anguished pained noises, despite being muzzled and recovered from the thwack on its back it received! "I rest my case. It's screaming like that because it knows now, it's going straight to Hell, and it can no doubt feel the pain already it's going to eternally suffer."

"Music to my ears. I'm done with this dog. Do it, now. No sedation, just stick it in him, and kill him."

"Don't you dare, or you'll never see another…"

"See what?" The male cop grinned, my; was he stupid. "See another dollar? Is that what you were going to say? Has this man been paying you, or for that matter any other Animal Control Officers under the table? Because frankly, I find it very highly suspicious that this dog hasn't been taken away already to be destroyed when it's pretty common knowledge here that there is a vicious dog ban. Or are you just not doing your job and slacking off?"

Morph sought the truth and forced it out of the dog owner first. He didn't do anything to pervert justice or making him say anything underhanded. He just helped him along to the straight and narrow, with a bit of influencing on his part. Namely, Morph made him, with the Lord's help, specifically the Holy Spirit's, as it was His job, after all. To make him feel super guilty, to rebuke him, to try to get a truthful confession out of him. Morph did the rest, simply, with just a few promptings of guilt-inducing words, to come clean! He didn't even bother to try to read the surface or forefront thoughts of the nasty criminal; he already knew what he was guilty of, past and present. With help from above, he just made the creep do the right thing, finally, and confess. _Help me out here, Holy Spirit. You do your part, to make him feel guilty, and rebuke him, and I'll do what I can, to help You out, to try to get a confession out of him to repentance._ "Why don't you tell the nice Police Officers what you've been doing hmm? Confess. Get it off your chest. You'll feel a whole lot better, once you confess, to what you have done wrong. The truth will set you free," Morph influenced the Pitbull owner, projecting onto him with the Holy Spirit's help those intense feelings of guilt. That was all that was needed, along with the right words of course. "You won't feel so, guilty, and awful, like you do now, if you do what is right, right now, and speak the truth. So, just tell them the whole truth. Get it off your chest. Be honest now. You will feel a whole lot better, once you speak the truth, of what you have done wrong, concerning that dog." Next was the Animal Control Officer. He went after her too, the same way, to get her to confess if she had accepted the bribe to keep quiet.

"All right I was paying her to keep quiet, her, and a few others, from Animal Control. I was giving them money to look the other way, paying the shelter to look the other way. I was paying them off, from the money, I was getting from the dogfighting, and breeding, and stud services, and puppies Bruiser was making for me! No, wait, what?!"

"How about you, got anything to say in defense, or are you just as guilty as he is, in all of this?"

"Yes, do tell, be honest, or you will just feel horrible forever if you don't confess, the truth, the guilt will you feel will eat away at you and fester away until you either go crazy, or you kill yourself. Whichever comes first! So tell the truth now. Because, how can you ever be forgiven, of your sinful misdeeds, if you don't confess, to what you have done wrong, first, and then ask for forgiveness? So spill it."

"All right, all right I confess; I took his dirty money! I love dogs; I can't stand it, seeing them being put down! Especially not a beautiful lovely lovable Pitbull like him. I love Pitbulls. So I waved some of the fees to keep him and put down falsification that he was over 16 when he's not even 6 years old. I agreed to not have his dog ever taken away, if he paid the shelter and me 15% of his earnings, to keep quiet, and I would look after his dog. I have vet training."

"Vet training but you're not a certified vet, are you?" She shook her head no. "Has this dog ever been vaccinated against rabies and other things?" There was no answer. The male Police Officer, as well as his female partner, was just shocked and speechless.

"Great that's just great. I'll have you sued if have to take one needle in my butt because of your evil animal. Even if I did use my powers to protect myself, and Jubilee, I'm not taking any chances. I am still suing you period, for what you've done, and I know a darn good lawyer, who loves mutants."

"You are a mutant then you admitted it! No wonder, why, Busier went after you! You deserved it! What the hell did you do to her and me?! How, what, I, how did you? How did I confess so easily like that, huh? You're a dirty mutant, and you did something to my head‼ Hers as well‼"

"Yes he might be a mutant, like me, he already admitted to that; he used his powers to protect me, against your attacking Pitbull if you were even listening. But guess what, that's not his powers," or so Jubilee had thought. She hadn't yet known about Morph's secondary powers, he had developed that were primarily latent, until after what had happened to him with Sinister. It really had nothing to do with the mad scientist, so much as, it was the stress; he had gone through, with what he had done. That had finally caused them to surface, and be noticeable by the Professor. He had been working on developing them more with a bit of help and advice from the Professor.

"Looks like I have more than one person to take in. You are under arrest, you know the drill," he read her the rights she already knew; as he handed the dog catching pole over to his partner, as he made the arrest. He pushed the dirty animal control officer over the hood of the cruiser, and cuffed her hands, and turned her around and sat her down on the ground so she could watch this. "Yes, sympathy is one thing, and yes, mercy shown is great. Also, yes, you can feel as badly as you want, in fact, it is a good thing; it means you haven't been numbed by your job. But when it comes to vicious animals, and especially, illegal ones, unless you are telling them where they can live, where there are no bans, there should be none given. Or rather, one should not let their love for an animal, undermine, or worse, to cause it to circumvent justice being done and worse; incriminate yourself in the process! It is now time you learned that," he told her as he made her watch it, along with Pitbull dog lover beside her. "Now, as for this dog, stand back everyone. Since you are such a dog lover, and won't, or refuse to do your job, I will do away with it, now, with a few bullets." It was as if he knew he was going to wind up doing this all along; that he was going to kill it. He was glad to do it too. As his partner who still had the dog in the dogcatcher's noose took it over to the big open grassy area across the street. So that any bullets that he fired off would not ricochet off the cement and accidentally harm anyone. As he gladly shot it three times, to put it down. Firing it in the chest, the back, and the neck shoulder area. Clicking on his Hand Talky, "Dispatch, I need you to send another Police Officer and someone from the Health Department and the vet, to come to take this Pitbull away to be checked for rabies. I'll also need some Police Officers to go in and detain all of the personnel from local Animal Control and local shelters in a holding cell after their workday is over. Apparently, we have some dirty Animal Control Officers and possibly workers, who are being paid dirty money, to look the other way. So I don't know how many there are, so all of them, for now, are going to have to all be held guilty and accountable for it until we can and do find out. Looks like there will be plenty of new openings for new Animal Control Officers, preferably ones who don't like or hate Pitbulls, and hate lawbreakers. So you might want to get right on that. The dog owner and shooter just sang, as well as a dirty animal control officer. The shooter dog owner has been paying her and them to keep quiet and let him keep his illegal vicious fighting Pitbull, with money he's been making from it. I've destroyed the dog, fired 3 shots at it to kill it. But I need someone to close off the area and keep everyone away, as it might have rabies. While I escort the victim of the gunshot to the hospital to be looked after and treated. They're ready now to take Martha Dobson to the hospital. So please alert and have the local hospital staff standing by to treat her."

"Roger. We also just got a call in a 3-block radius from you are, of a dog death. A Dachshund, it has been reported by its owner, as being brutally attacked and killed, possibly from another dog. It sounds like what you were looking for."

"I got this one," taking a look at the address, of where the call was coming from. "I'll take care of this call. You go take care of them. I'll get a ride to the station or the hospital after I take care of this call."

"You got it." The sirens of justice soon wailed out very loudly as it followed behind the 2 cars and Ambulance to the local hospital.

Meanwhile… Knock, knock. A senior woman opened the door, to her. "Just got the call, that your dog was mauled and attacked?"

"My, that was amazingly fast. Superpowers, mutant maybe?"

"No, ma'am, my partner, and I, we were in the nearby vicinity, out on a different case, which well, just so happens to coincide with this one I'm afraid."

"What happened if I may ask?"

"Catching and disposing of a Pitbull, which is probably what, attacked your little Dachshund." She showed her in, and to where the dog was killed. There was blood spattered all over the place, in her little kitchen. Just from her observation, of the blood spatters, that would certainly explain it, the blood on the Pitbull's face, all right.

"Oh, so that was the gunshots I heard, shortly after I hung up. I just got back home from doing my grocery shopping, as you can see, to this, mess, in my kitchen. Only to discover, my little pet is had been attacked and is gone. I didn't touch anything in case you need to do something like take pictures of it. If it helps, I have pictures of Dixie before she, she was…"

"I'm so sorry for your loss. Looks like we will need to inspect your home if that's all right."

"W-what for," she sniffles. "Is it something that I did? I mean, yes, I warned him and tried to tell him that he better get rid of the Pitbull before I call the Animal Control on him. He must have sic'd his dog on mine, while I was out getting groceries. Is that why you need to inspect my house? Yes, I will cooperate, of course, but…is that because of harassing calls, I was only trying to prevent…."

Clearly, she was distraught over her loss, the poor old girl, as she comforted the older lady, "No, ma'am, it's nothing you have done wrong. You did the right thing in calling us, and Animal Control. In fact, that probably had nothing to do with how your pet died. In fact, we, unfortunately, do have a few corrupt Animal Control Officers, we just found out. Hence why the calls went unchecked."

"Dirty beggars! So what happened if I may ask?"

"A teen girl and her friend a few blocks down, they were trying to kill or subdue the Pitbull so that something like this wouldn't happen. Yes, they are mutants, but they were trying to protect people in the vicinity from the attacking Pitbull that had snapped."

"Are they all right?! Did it attack them?"

"No, they weren't hurt, but the foster mother has been hurt, but it wasn't from the Pitbull. She was shot by the owner, in cold-blooded revenge, trying to protect her foster daughter because of what she and her friend had tried to do by trying to kill or subdue the Pitbull before it attacks. They had been told that it was going to be disposed of, so they did the vigilantly thing and tried to kill it themselves, to prevent it from attacking anyone else, or worse, that the dog somehow goes free. Must have figured something was up because no one from Animal Control had ever seemed to come to do anything about it, like taking away the Pitbull. It's just too bad in all of this that your little pet had to suffer the price."

"Yes I'm upset that my little Dixie is dead, but I'm so glad to hear they were not hurt by that Pitbull, I know what they can do. Frankly, it was about time they finally sent someone over to catch it. Like said I called half a dozen times or more, to have someone come over there and take it away. What happened, did it have to finally bite someone to finally get someone to do something about it?"

"Almost, but no. There were just a lot of charges that turned out to be true. A guest that was over there with the foster daughter at the time knew about the Pitbull ban law and had the foster father call us. He noticed and suspected other wrongdoings as well, going on, that turned out to be true. Well long story short, one person was shot, and it did very much have to do with the owner of the Pitbull, we have arrested. With that said; the good news is we know who is responsible, as do you, I'm sure, so if you want to press charges…?"

"YES‼"

"I'll get right on that, and if you will allow it, we really do need to do an inspection. The kids had said it took off for about 3 to 5 minutes, so, in that time, it must have made its way over here, and somehow got after your dog, and killed it, and escaped somehow, to come after them. That's the part; we have to find out, how the pit did it."

"Yes, if you think it will help. Might even give me some peace of mind, when all of this is over said and done. Must have managed to get through the 2 doggie doors I have, but my yard is fenced in all around. So I'm not sure how it managed to get through the fence. I suppose it could have jumped, but I don't know if a Pitbull can jump that high up."

"That's mostly why need to do an inspection of your yard, to determine that."

"Of course, dear," she sighs putting a few groceries away in the fridge. "So is, I believe, is it Martha Dobson, is she okay?"

"Yes, that's her, who was shot, and yes. She'll probably hurt for a bit from the gunshot wound, but she will be okay."

"Tell her she is in my prayers and their daughter too. The poor dear, she must be so upset with her mama getting hurt by all of this."


	15. Comfort

**_Comfort_**

Who knew what I had imagined back in the hot tub before I had got my head soaked by funny Morph, of sitting on his lap, would come true. Only, there was nothing sexy or romantic about this, as he held me and cried with me. It was just comforting, just what I needed right now. Despite Morph claiming that he didn't show his emotions very often, I begged to differ. Morph did have a soft gentle side to him, one full of compassion, caring, and love. It showed here. It was one of those things on the list I had. Huh, and it seemed the Lord was letting me know, by showing me glimpses of that, of his personality. Only that nagging eating away at me feeling of him having a girlfriend, it still didn't sit too well with me, to care too much about Morph's lovely and mushy personally right now. All I cared about right now was my foster mother, and how she was doing. They hadn't allowed Morph or I to go in there. Just my foster father Martin was permitted to go in there, right now. Who could blame them; I wasn't theirs, not really their child, not by birth, nor by adoption. So that just made me, cry out even louder. According to Morph, it had been well over an hour, since they were admitted in there. What's taking them so long?! It was so frustrating, not knowing anything, and there was not a thing I could do about it! "Ohh," shuttering in my cries, I sniffle, feeling just all around miserable, about everything. The whole world felt as if it was collapsing in and around me in those moments.

"There, there, now, just let it out, you can cry all you want. You're angry, upset, confused, sad, scared, frustrated, and everything else, all at the same time. It's hard to process all that emotion all at once. So just let it out, sweetie, I'm here for you." Jubilee nodded and hugged me tighter. I loved it!

"Why won't-they l-let me in t-there? J-just b-because I'm n-not r-really t-their child! It-it's not fair! It's not fair," she sobbed shaking her pretty head on my chest.

"I know, you're right, it isn't fair, you are their child; they should let you go in there with them."

"But I'm n-not t-their kid, Morph, I was only their foster child. Not r-real-really theirs, their child, I was never…"

"Still their child and it really doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, and so should you, those are your real parents. They raised you pretty much, I'm assuming,"

"T-they w-were t-the only o-ones t-that r-really cared for m-me, sniff. They a-are best f-foster p-parents I ever h-had! They w-were t-the only ones that truly l-loved m-me."

"See, that makes them your actual parents. I'm sure they feel the same way. Could also just be hospital policy, only one person allowed in at a time. Maybe to get a statement. I mean we know the male Police Officer went in there with him. Could also be getting the doctor or doctor's statements of her condition, due to the gun shooting. Like a doctor, they have to write stuff down, doctors do charts, police write up reports. It's probably also just privacy policy you know. You also got to remember that he was going to donate blood for your mama, and whoever else needs it. So most likely, it will make him a bit dizzy. So they probably want to observe him as much as her. Who knows the reasons why?"

"They should be getting my statement, our statement, he wasn't there, when she was shot at, I was; we were." Morph gently wiped my tears and cuddle hugged me. He is so sweet.

"I know. Our time will come for that. They will probably come out and talk to us separately as to what happened. We don't know, for sure right now, what's going on right now, just that they are doing their best to treat her and make her feel as comfortable as possible. So we'll know when we know. We can pray for her. Okay. We should pray for your mother, okay, for…"

"She not really my mother," blubbering about it. "They didn't even bother adopting me, and now it's too late anyhow."

"Yes she is so, you even called her mommy, and she wanted that. She is your mother, even if they didn't adopt you, and maybe they can't for some reason. It could be because you are a mutant, but I really highly doubt that. It could be because of the legal system on Social Services' end, not yours, or theirs. I know that sometimes adoption can take years. It's arduous to go through. Worse, than actual pregnancy and labor I hear. Not to mention all the costs associated with it as well. So you can't really blame them if they couldn't adopt you. I'm sure they wanted to, and if they could, they would have done it. You would make a wonderful daughter; and as far as I'm concerned, you really are their real daughter, adoption papers or not. Besides, the only important adoption papers, I care about, and so should you, are the ones up in Heaven, the day you got saved."

Morph's cutting remakes got to me, times two. Adoption, I had wanted to be adopted, for so long, to have a real family, of my own. But what he said was true, I already am adopted by God, Jesus died for me, so I could be adopted by my Heavenly Father; He adopted me‼ I wailed out and sobbed so loudly. How could I forget that! I felt so stupid and so selfish as well. "I'm so stupid, oh God, I'm so sorry. I want my mommy, oh God, what if she, oh God!"

"Come on, it's all right, it will be all right." Getting up I held her in my arms like a sobbing little child in my arms and carried her outside. I didn't want her to disturb the others in the Waiting Room. Besides, she was just in hysterics, to the point of embarrassment to her and me. Well, I didn't get all that embarrassed, but I did feel that way when the others looked over. But in this case, it was some sympathetic smiles, and understanding nods. It wasn't those shakes of their heads, you dread. Oh, you know the feeling, and the kind I'm talking about here. Of watching your tantruming child in a grocery or department store wanting candy, or a toy, or something like that, when you told them, no, so they kick off. You know how you want to haul them up by the ear for not listening and taking them over the knee and letting them have it. But you can only stand there looking stupid and dumbfounded, knowing you can't do that in public too much anymore. Yes, you could take them to the restroom, and do it there, but still, you have to be so careful about that, nowadays. Not like a good 20 or so years ago, or more. Back then, no one cared if you paddled their bottoms in public if they misbehaved and kicked off. In fact, you would be called a bad parent if you didn't do it, gave the kid a good swat on the butt. Ah, the good old days, back when a spanking was the norm, back when the Bible was preached on the backsides of naughty kids. I swore to myself, years ago, watching as a child, this stinking bratty little kid, throwing a huge temper tantrum in a store, for, heck if I know what, I would never let it happen. I was reminded of that, now, as I took Jubilee out of the hospital if I ever had any kids who kicked off in a public place and threw a tantrum, that I would spank them. I would probably do it at home, or in the washroom or the car in the parking lot. I don't care if I do get CPS, called on me, because I will raise them up the way the Good Lord has told me to, by the Book. In other words, throwing a tantrum = a spanking. Also, others came to mind like lies = a spanking, stealing = a spanking, also any deliberate disobedience = a spanking. You know, for the big offenses, the smaller ones would always get a stern talking to and or a timeout or other such corrections or punishments, like grounding, chores, privileges removed, favorite toys are taken away, or things like that. The spankings were to be reserved, only, for the big and or serious ones, for the big rule-breaking offenses, which deemed a spanking, like a tantrum. I would, of course, try to talk and reason it out, and if that did not seem to be working, look into things medical. Lord knows, I know, that there are kids who do act out, all because of an underlying medical condition, which could kick off anything from tantrums to all sorts of other bad behaviors. But this wasn't a tantrum; she was just rightly, upset, and had every right to be. Hysterical crying, yes, but I don't blame her for it either. "Shhh, try to calm down, now. I'm here for you; try to calm down." I would be unnerved too if one of my parents or my sister had been shot at and nearly killed, and had to witness all that. Heck, I have a bit of PTSD from what I went through. So I could sympathize, after all, I have been there, and have done that. I knew I could help her, because of what I been through and the knowledge I have gotten through counseling I had received. But right now, I knew the poor kid must be scarred for life after seeing that, or at least feel that way. So I just took her out into the cool night air to try to help cool her down and calm her down some, before going back inside to the Waiting Room. I sat down on one of those cerement barriers in the parking lot, held her tightly, and rocked her until she had calmed down. I talked her through her emotions, what she was probably feeling, it took a bit, but she finally nodded. She was ready now. So when she finally subsided most of her sobbing I finally asked her, "Want to talk about it now? Why did you just start bawling so loudly like that for in there? What was that all about? By the way, you are not stupid, you hear me, not at all," I tell her very sternly but very lovingly. I would not dare have her degrade herself like that. I too remember calling myself, useless, and then later on after the team had left, taking it back, saying I'm not useless.

"I'm sorry. It's just…all I wanted my whole life since being in Social Services was a family. I can't believe I forgot I had one all this time. How stupid and selfish I have been! My foster family, you and the other X-Mean, and most importantly and firstly, God, my Heavenly Family. Making you my actual brother and family too."

"So those were more of happy realization tears."

"Yeah, and a loving rebuke, sigh. I couldn't believe I had forgotten all that and been so selfish. Repentant tears of apology for forgetting that. I'm so blessed, I got a family. I can't say that of some other folks, who don't even have a place to call their own. I'm still just so freaked out and worried about my mother. What if…"

"Shhh," covering her lips with a finger and shaking my head. "No, what-ifs, I, we, already rebuked it, that spirit of death, she will live. Now, we still should pray for her, that the doctor's hands are guided through the surgery to get the bullet out and what to do thereafter, for whatever they need to do to help her out."

"I don't know how to right now, or what to say, rather. I c-can't even think right now, let alone straight. I'm so upset I can't even think straight, my head is pounding, I'm still angry at the guy and so sad and scared for my mother. It's too much for me. I can't handle it. Will she lose a leg, all because of this? I'd feel so horrible if they had to amputate it, her leg. Don't get me started, of what I would want to do to that guy if that happened. I can't think straight, how and what to pray for, for her. Right now. Just God help her. I know that I should be on my knees thanking Jesus she is still alive, that He kept her safe from being shot to death because of that creep."

"That's okay and quite understandable, so I'll do it for you. What you went through was very traumatic, and I will not downgrade it. It's hard to process through all of that sometimes and what and how to feel. How do you feel?"

Shaking in my voice, partly from crying, "Numb. I don't know what to do or think."

"That's normal. Try writing, if you have a journal or a diary, or do it on the computer, if you don't. But you should try that that can really help too, to write things out, how you feel, what you're experiencing. I did the same for a whole year after what I went through. Remember, God is on your side, and so am I, and so are the rest of the X-Men. Plus we're at a hospital, so if you need to talk with any of the doctors about…"

"I just want you," I hug him tightly, pulling his jacket around me for warmth and for comfort. I could smell the leather of his jacket and him; that sent that was uniquely Morph on his clothes, relaxing me instantly, as I cuddled in closer. Morph really was my best comfort right now, even if our situations were completely different, he understood exactly what it was I was going through, better than I could have expected. Guess he knew from experience, with what he went through of course.

"You will get through it, though, that I know well."

"I know, it's just hard right now, scary and shaky. But I'm happy she's alive, thankful grateful I can't…"

Her words were lost I nodded understandingly, it happens. "Yes, you should be very thankful I know I am; that it wasn't worse than what it is. All you have to do is agree with me in prayer like you did already when you said Amen when I prayed for our safety. You and I both know how well that turned out; after all, we could have been…"

"Mauled, attacked, shot at too, killed, murdered…just to name a few."

"Yeah, just to name a few. Not to mention how well Jesus gave us just what we needed. A cop who hate dogs as much as we do and wouldn't hesitate to put one down. Nor take BS from a dogger trying to save his demon dog. Or put up with corrupt Animal Control Officers." So not knowing how to pray exactly, for what, as Jubilee was; I too was a bit in the dark about what was going on in there; so I prayed in Tongues. Perhaps that was also why Jubilee didn't know what or how to pray for her foster mother in this situation I figure thought as I prayed away in Tongues. Only doing that, her praying in Tongues in a dream, is a bit different from while you are awake and are aware of what you are doing or trying to do. Especially having no clue or little knowledge of it, can make it tough, when it should flow easily. So I was also praying for her, I hoped, as well, to get her through this.

When he finished praying I said, "Amen, Jesus Amen, You know what he said, bring it to pass, Amen." Cuddling him tightly, admiring him for what he had done so selflessly. I felt better, I could imagine some of those words were for me as well, I was sure of it. "Morph," I dare ask, with a sniffle, "can I ask you a question?" There was just one thing though that had been bothering me about all this mess, and how easily, it had all been resolved.

"Of course, unless it's about my name, cause I'm not quite ready yet."

"It's not about that."

"What is it then?"

"Did you do something to that dimwit dog owner's head and the Animal Control Officer too, back there? It's just too weird, they both confessed like that. Or at least the owner. It's like he didn't even know what he was saying until it was too late."

"It was the guilt; it made him sing like a bird."

"Really?" I didn't quite believe him, times two. It sort of seemed a bit unbelievable. But also, Morph was wearing one of his, signature, guilty as charged, grins. "What did you do? How? I want to know everything. What are you not telling me?"

"Well, not all of the others know about it, except for the Professor, Jean, Beast, and of course, Moira. Heck, I didn't even know about it, till after Sinister was destroyed. When that mind-control got switched off; with his destruction, and its deactivation. As soon as that happened, it was as if my mind got switched on. I screamed out in pain both because of the deactivation and because of something else activating in my brain. Bit of a mental overloaded I could hardly walk. I just about passed out if Scott and Logan hadn't grabbed me. I even had to be taken up into the X-Jet in a stretcher, and it wasn't so much protocol at that point, I really felt like I couldn't walk. My head was insanely pounding, as all these things and thoughts were flooding into my head, I couldn't tell if it was the split personality, or the devil playing games with my mind, or what was going on. Anyhow, after they had sorted me out, and made sure that I was comfortable. I had to be given something for it, namely a dose of Professor Xavier mind soother, and also sleeping medication to put me out, for a good, much-needed sleep. I would be sedated, I was told, for at least a day, or more. During that time, I would get the mind-control device removed as well. So they made sure I took a good piddle before getting catheterized and an IV put in my arm, after being put out. They had sorted that part out, after I was soundly sleeping, because I had expressed how very freaked out of needles I was now. Not to mention the idea of having a tube being stuck up into my penis and into my bladder."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ouch, yeah. That was like 3 days I think, that's what Beast had said when I asked again, how long you had been sleeping for and if you were really all right. Weren't you hungry like starving when you finally woke up? I also didn't see any bandage on your head or nothing to even suggest it was removed surgically."

"Well, my body really needed to recover and recoup, by sleeping for a good long while. I mean I had been through quite a lot and it was only when I got back to the safety of the school could the true healing begin, starting with me a taking a good long sound sleep. As for being hungry, I was, but far from starving, the IV provided me with the nutrition I needed, but I was actually hungry when I did get up. By then the mind-control was also out of my head. It wasn't done surgically; it didn't need to be, given the nature of my powers. So basically, the way it was put in, was the way it was taken out. The Professor used his powers to have me use mine to manipulate it out. So there was no need for surgery. It was also then that he probably found out for sure and then I found out after waking up, why my mind was still going crazy but not as bad as before. Turns out, that I too had a nascent power. Turned out I had it all along. I just wasn't aware of it until then. Just like the new aspect of your powers. But I always had it, psionic telepathy; it goes along with my shapeshifting powers. It's how and why I'm a much more powerful shapeshifter than some other shapeshifters out there."

"Like Mystique," I ask, she was the only other one I knew of. No, that wasn't quite true, Ape, one of the Morlocks, he's one too.

"Uh-hmm, so when I become someone, I can really fully take them on. Say just like from me watching TV, I can instantly know all I need to know to become them even if I have never met them yet, or for that matter ever will."

"Just like the night, I met you. You had never seen me before, but you became me and got my voice exactly right, without ever meeting me until later, to know what it sounds like from watching TV."

"Yeah exactly, that's the psionic telepathy. Of course, you were in the Mansion too, so I might have sense scanned your mind as well. Especially since, you were right there by the door at the time, right. It's better for me, but I don't have to be in contact visually or physically and I will get a reading on the person, and boom, I know. So, since you were nearby and in the vacantly, by the door namely, I picked up on you without even knowing it. It also allows me to become very large or very small. Not all shapeshifters are capable of that. I don't always do it, because I am aware of it, and I know it will take me a lot longer at times with transformations if I do that, so I usually just do normal shapeshifts. In other words, I stay the same weight as I am now, but I can also at will lose or gain mass if need be, to accommodate the forms I take on."

"So if I like gained 300 Lbs. extra…?"

"Yup, it would show I weighed 390 or 415, no problem when I step on the scale. Provided it didn't crack and split it in half when I stepped on it," he laughs.

I laugh about it too, "That's terrible!"

"So is being overweight, I'm sure, it's not good for you. But I've always been a skinny guy."

"Skinny and tall," I remind him, "as well as muscular. Unless that's not all you are faking," I tease ask him feeling and squeezing his arm muscles.

"They're real. Can't tell me you don't gain a bit muscles after exiting the Danger Room after Logan or Scott is through with one of their rigorous training programs."

I flex and show him. Though girls and women don't show it as much as guys, but I was pretty ripped too, if I do say so myself. I have and do workout, and eat a heck of a lot of protein. Beast says I need that if I do workout because it helps build big muscles. Also, if I'm in the mood for something sweet, I could make a smoothie or milkshake with fruit and poteen powder, yummy, and get a nice full tummy with a thirst-quenching drink. Though I didn't go through the ringer on a regular bases like some of the others do, or choose to do, but I have been through it, not including Scott's… My mind suddenly darkens with anger. Morph must have sensed my mood shift and maybe just my countenance changing. As I started even shaking with rage!

"What's the matter, ticked off at the jerk that hurt your mama still?"

Scoffing, "Not just him, I got a beef with someone else as well. Let's just say I found out today, you were so right about what you said, about him, and leave it at that."

I tried to prob her mind but it was unreachable. Turns out Jubilee had a secondary mutation too, or at least her powers made it imposable for a telepath to read her mind or sense her. Found that out from the Professor and Jean, when I was informed of my secondary power. It had developed slowly after she had gotten her powers, hence, why, I was able to read her back then; it wasn't fully developed back then, if at all. I tried even though I knew what I was trying to look for, she was either, blocking me, or she really truly was unable to be reached now. She just made me even more interested in getting to know her, even more. I really liked the fact; I couldn't read her mind, as I could with others. I liked it a lot. That made things fair and square. That meant it was like two normal human beings when they wanted to get to know someone else. That meant they talked and I listened. So I listened, and I didn't do any talking. I was right, right about, what, though; I wasn't so sure, but hey, if a girl tells you, you are right, take it; just take it! Because it is a very rare thing, indeed! "Be angry and sin not," that was the only piece of advice I knew to tell her, from the Bible, my little sister needed to hear it.

I wanted to hurt, to kill Scott, but that would be murder, sin. I really wish I would not think these thoughts, but…yeah; the world would be a lot nicer without the ugly thoughts running around in your head. So I tried to think of something a little nicer about Scott. But my mind raced right back to how much I wanted to at least, hurt him, somehow, not kill him; just hurt him. I didn't really mean it, in my thoughts, you know we can all say things, or think things, like that, and not mean it. Still, ugly thoughts, no doubt devil thoughts. Maybe it wasn't so bad if he…. Yes if the thoughts in my head had wanted to kill him or at least now hurt him, maybe there was a good reason for it, why I was now justly angry with him. Maybe in some way, Scott deserved to be hurt, to know how much he had hurt me and had done me wrong. He had done something very evil and wrong, period! He did something awful to me, and he deserved to be punished for it! That's it! He **_did_** deserve to be punished, not killed, I wasn't _that_ angry, with him. But that was it, and that was why I was so angry with him now. In fact, I know I would have gone right to, either the Professor; and or Logan, with it, right after I had woken up, had I not blacked out and or blocked it out. Scott had gotten basically away with a crime, but he needed and deserved, but still had not yet, been punished, for it, his crimes. So it was only just, that Scott has to be punished for it! After all, it wasn't just something arbitrary that he had done to me; or even wistfully hoping, one day, he could get his desire, and had screwed up royally, something that I could brush off, and forgive, and forget, all about. No, he had nearly deliberately killed me in there. Not to mention before that, he was trying to deliberately break the rules set in place, and betray everyone, especially including the Professor at the time. But as of right now, he had still gotten cleanly away with it. But not for long, no, he would be getting it, and hearing it soon, from someone, just whom; maybe Jean. Better do it soon, I knew that. Especially with the Professor gone now, there would be no one now to stop him. As no doubt, Scott is still probably after getting a couple of mutts. Now my anger was placed into the right state of mind, of righteous anger! Scott needed, and he yes, deserved, to be punished, for what he did to me. He needs a good… Yup, one of those‼ Namely, Logan yelling at Scott crossly as he grabs him with a big hand right around his scrawny little neck, then the back of his britches as he cartoony-like tries to run off! By this time, I was smiling. Turning him over his knee and baring his bottom, and goes at him like a good papa bear! Watching that baby butt of his, as it jiggles away, with every slap and spank as Logan's hand comes crashing down on it! Scott screaming in pain, begging for mercy, apologizing, for what he has done wrong, but oh no, Logan doesn't dare relinquish nor relents on his spanking any, at least not, yet, as he continues to slap and spank the stupid right out of Scott, as his butt gets pinker and redder by the…. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, haw, haw, haw, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, oh man, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha," continuing to laugh loudly I got stares, from someone who had just recently come out for a smoke and especially from Morph.

"Mind sharing with me what's so darn funny, that turned you from angry, just seconds ago, to a happy and giggling little schoolgirl?"

"Ohh, I don't know if I should…"

"Ohh, come on. You know I love a good laugh. Let me in, let's hear it."

"Let's just say it involves someone, finally getting his. Namely over someone's knee and leave it at that."

"Donavan Zane, that jerk dog owner, right?"

"No. But maybe I should start to think about it; after all, he should get one of those, as well. No, it's not him, it's someone else entirely."

"Is it me?"

"No."

"So; is it, someone, I know, at least?"

"Yes."

"Is that someone, I know, getting, or giving, the spanking?"

"Both, you know both those people very well. Both. The one giving and the one receiving the spankings."

"Gee I wonder who it, or they, could be."

"It's not you, but I can switch it up in my mind so that it could be you, in disguise, or coming in there to also lay into the dweeb who deserves it."

"Dweeb?" I could only think of one person I might consider a dweeb, and he wore glasses. "Is it Scott?" The adorable sort of snorting giggle laugh told me it was yes. "Really? Can't imagine what the walking Boy Scout, has ever dare done wrong to deserve it, to get a… Yes, I can, oh yes I can. Is it Logan giving it to him, or the Professor?"

"Logan. But it should be, or have been the Professor. Yeah, that's it; let's change my fantasy up, just a bit. Logan is about to really give it to him; but you come in, like that, like him, saying, now that you have warmed up his bottom, it's my turn. It's time to use old Spanky, the good old Board of Education on his Seat of Learning! But Logan is saying no, I'm not finished tearing him a new one. He's getting it on the bare, with my hand, none of that kinky stuff, just my hand on his bare rump!"

Oh, I could just hear and see it all now, and I also realized with it, something important as well. "Oooh, that's gonna hurt, so badly, you know, because of the… oooh, yeah, ouch, yeah." Well, I could remember getting a few good sound spankings, not pleasant at all, but each one, well deserved. I knew why I had gotten each one. Oh and before you scream, it's abuse, it wasn't, it was a spanking, and yes, I deserved each one of them. However, there was that one time I had gotten it with the belt when I had really royally screwed up and messed up big time. I could not imagine how much more painful those Adamantium-laced hands of Logan's would be, compared even to a leather belt coming crashing down, even on a bare butt. It had to feel at least 4 times worse than the belt. So whatever it was that Jubilee had thought, or rather, knew, he did, to deserve that kind of butt abuse, to his bare backside. Well, it really had to be something very bad, to be worthy of getting a whooping from Logan, with his hands.

"Can't forget he will take them out and giving him a new one. Starting with one right up where his bonny little butthole should actually be. So Scott can finally have his uptight butt, have not only a butt crack but also finally a butthole, to poop out of, after all, it's been fused shut for years!" Well, that had not only gotten Morphy laughing very loudly but the two others who were out for a smoke to cough and choke on their cigarettes, who heard it too. Serves them right, smokers are the worst, yuck. Then we gotta smell that garbage, and worse, right in front of hospital doors! Shouldn't there be, isn't there, a law against that, or at least around the hospital building? If not, there most certainly, needs to be one! I couldn't believe what I just said though! Maybe it was the worry. Maybe it was the fact; I knew that he deserved it all; or that when I finally fessed up, that that was probably what would happen. I knew Logan would do something like that, to Scott, when he finds out what Scott did to me. Morph maybe too; he too would be pretty angry with Scott also. But Logan he would be very close to actually ending Scott's miserable life, for what he did. After all, it's a father's duty to protect his child or children, and especially if that child or children is a female. I know for a fact, that Logan does consider me as his daughter. I'm sure the same could be said about Morph only replace daughter with son. I just laugh it up very loudly too in spite of myself. "Ohh, no, I think I'm starting to think like you."

"That can never be a good thing," I chuckle in spite of myself.

"You're telling me," I grin.

"But the worse part of it all that is…"

"You know it's probably true."

We both start laughing. "Scott's got no bunghole." I knew what Morph was going to do next. Yup, he imitated Beavis, minus the actual impersonation of him. As in taking on his cartoonish form. He just did his voice.

"I am the great Cornholio! There will be more bungholes after me! But no one is greater than Scott Summers, the Gringo from Nicaragua in Lake Titicaca; he is a gringo albino, with no bunghole!"

Laughing, "What's a bunghole," I ask. Yes, I knew what it meant, the actual meaning, as well as the funny one. I just wanted to hear the impression; I loved it, and his impersonations. It put a big huge smile on my face. Morph always knew how to cheer someone up, and how to make him or her laugh. That was one of the other things I wanted and needed from my husband, and Morph could do it easily, make me laugh.

"You are a bunghole, and so am I! But Scott does not have a bunghole. He was born with no bunghole, the albino gringo! We need to get TP for his new bunghole, when Scott finally gets one, and stops being full of, aahaa bunghole!"

Laughing loudly, "Couldn't say it could you?"

"Did I have to?"

"No. We know he has no bunghole and he is full of it." I knew when I did tell on him it would come to that. "I should get him some TP for when he does get a butt crack and a bunghole. Because he will need it, and finally be able to use it. Good luck in getting someone to teach him how to wipe after all of these years. Maybe Jean might help him. After the stitches finally come out!"

That got me laughing loudly, so I kept playing along, anything, to keep Jubilee's mind off the former. "Oh, yes, we must go at once, to the supply room and get him a few rolls, for the great Albino Gringo from, Lake Titicaca! I would hate for Scott's new bunghole to get polio!"

"I'd hate that too. Only just a little."

"Aagh, maybe they have some, Wet Ones, to wipe his little poop-chute, poop, poop! He's got wipe his bunny hole it's full of poop, with Wet Ones wipes, for poop."

Laughing, "I'm not going there."

"Why not? Your mind is a little dirty already, might as well go down that road, and clean it up." So I have to ask. "What's on your dirty little mind?"

"Scott is a big jerk."

"What else is new?" I had to ask the obvious, with the obvious statement as we walked in and head to the Waiting Room. "Scott left me to die, made me go crazy. What did he do to you?"

"Like you, he caused me a head problem, amnesia, I forgot until recently what he did to me."

"Do you…?" Jubilee sighs and gives a slight nod. _At least she remembers now. But what I have to wonder, and know, was **how** it happened. Whatever it was, it must be something bad. Really bad, to block it out like that. _

"Yeah, unfortunately for me, and soon it will be really very unfortunate for the bunghole when he gets his."

"Ooh, vengeance is a dish best served cold, and by the hand of God. But, we're in this together so we should…"

"Oh, there you are. Good news, she will be fine. You can both go see her. Your father is going to be a little out of it, dizzy lightheaded since he donated a lot of blood to help save your mother's life. If he throws up; or feels like it, come and get one of us, we can give him something for it. If he faints, however, hit the call button and find a doctor. His blood helped to stabilize her but it was your quick thinking that saved her from bleeding out, and to death."

"We can have that chat later; let's go see your mama."

"Wait w-what about the cop, w-why was he allowed to go in there, and not us? And what took so long?"

"He was donating blood too. He has O- blood, so he's a universal donor. So he wanted to help her out too, and if not needed, well, we most certainly do need his blood for emergencies, when we don't know the blood type and someone needs it. While he was there, he figures it was the best way to get a statement from Martin, as to what happened. As to what took so long, was, although you had stopped or aided her in preventing her from bleeding out, she was still bleeding. We had to make sure she had stopped before we gave the transfusion, otherwise, it would be pointless. She would just bleed out, again. The bleeding has stopped and she is still hooked up and getting your father's blood. But she still needs to recoup some and gain her strength for at least a day, or more. Before she does go through surgery to remove the bullet if we can or should. In some cases, it's best to leave it in."

"Thought there had to be a good reason. Ohh."

"Thank you," I hug Morph tightly.

Confused, "For what?"

Starting to cry, "For being there for me, mostly for praying for her. I think that's what mostly did it, to see her through it all."

"Hey, it's what any good friend would do. You would do the same for me."

"I would, especially if it was you. Yeah, let's go see my mommy. I want to see her, blood or no blood."

Martin was holding his head, still recuperating from the blood donation, but otherwise was fine. But it was Martha that smiled when we both walked in and held out her arms for Jubilee. That was when I knew everything would be fine. Sure, there was surgery, ahead, for her, as the doctor had said, she probably still needed to get the bullet removed, or it might be left in. But that was to be left up to the discretion of the doctors. But I knew, regardless, of what would happen; that it would all be fine and she would be fully well. Maybe a little rehab, to help with walking again, about as much as you might receive if you had broken a leg or an ankle or limb or such. I rub Jubilee's back, "It's a miracle."

Sniffling and nodding, "Yeah, I know, thank You, God."

"Jubilee," holding her arms out Jubilee gently goes to her and hugs her tightly.

"You're awake, and you're okay, mommy. You'll be okay too, daddy."

Martin beams, as he gets a hug, "By the way, I love it when you call me, daddy. Never got a chance to be one, you know. I would appreciate it if you humor me."

"The both of us."

Chuckling, "You got it. You feeling okay, daddy?"

"Dizzy, lightheaded, and I kinda feel like I might want to puke, but otherwise fine. But I suppose that's from all the blood I donated, 2 Pints too much."

Nodding, the doctor checks his eyes, "That's perfectly normal, considering the amount of blood you lost or rather donated. I'll get you some Gravol for the nausea, and some juice and a cookie, to help with the blood sugar as well some iron pills, so you don't get anemic. You should feel fine in about 72 hours. Be sure you do have good nourishing meals for a while, while you recuperate."

"How many days is that, a week?"

The doctor looks questioningly at me, so I answer, "Dyscalculia. I have it."

"Ah, okay, I've heard of that. Would you like me to tell you how many days?"

"No I want to figure it out, but you got to help me. So 12 hours in a day…no…24?"

"Yes. Try to make it easy like before. Can you count by 10's?"

Nodding, "I think so, uh, 10, 20, 30, 40, uh?"

"Can you count or add 4 and 4?"

"Umm, 8, so 48, um, uh, 2 days, is, 48."

"Uh-hmm, that's right. Try; go on, you're doing wonderfully."

"Uh, 48, um…58…68…" counting on her fingers, "69, 70, 71, 72…3 days!"

"You got it! So for sure by the time you get back from your camping trip, your papa should be perfectly fine, and recovered from the blood donation."

"Oh, my camping trip. I don't want to go, not anymore."

"But it was all you were talking about."

"Oh, honey, you should go."

"But I wanted you to go with me."

"I know, but things change. Next year, okay. We can go camping together later in the year, we got all summer. I'm sure I will be fine by then and up and walking." The doctor nods. "I want you to go, have fun on your camping trip."

"But I will have no one there, who I know who I can talk to."

"Oh, that can't be true. You must know a few girls and ladies there."

"She's right you know, you're a very outgoing girl, I'm sure you made some friends there."

"No, not really, daddy, not with my, you know, problem."

"Just because you have a special gift, doesn't make you unable to go and to make friends. And that is what this retreat is about right, creating lasting bonds for life?"

"But I don't feel right about leaving you."

"I know, but I promise, I will be fine. Besides Martin will be here with me, for the majority. You don't have to worry about me, really, I promise, I will be just fine. It's not as bad as you fear it is really. Plus I also have all these wonderful doctors who know what they are doing. I also got all your prayers, as well, more importantly, to help them, help me, along the road to recovery. I want you to go, and that's final."

"I want you to go too, make me jealous, that I couldn't go with you like you were doing to me all along. Just keep the mutation thing to yourself if you think it's a problem. No one has to know, it's none of their business. Just like bedwetting, no one needs to know unless they wake up beside you with wet sheets or an air mattress."

"Why would you think…? Do _you_ still wet the bed?"

"No. Not anymore, after I got over the nightmares over my near-death experience. But that was only the first few nights or a week or so, and it all was fear-based, I haven't really wet the bed since I was really little. Do you?"

"No. I'm surprised you even admitted to that especially with him in the room."

"I've seen and heard a whole lot worse. Fear-based bed wetting is not unusual, or anything to be ashamed of, if you have gone through some sort of trauma, and you relive it in your dreams."

Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, "I'm an open honest person to the best of my abilities. Besides, I was just being hypothetical, about you, as to your excuses as to why you really could not go. Obviously, they would know. So, that would be the only real logical reason why you don't want to go, is because you still occasionally wet the bed. Or do it every night. In which case, it's either medical or a mental condition; or you got a chronic ongoing case of constipation."

"Constipation? What does that have to do with bed wetting?"

"In most cases, bedwetting is caused by a child being constipated. A full colon pushes on the bladder, not giving the child much room left for bladder expansion, hence, not being to hold it through the night. It also causes you to spurt or leak because of the pressure. Most doctors will tell you that. Or with a simple ultrasound test, can easily diagnose the child with constipation, hence why the kid is having bed wetting problems."

"Is that all true?"

"Actually yes, I read an article about that not too long ago most bedwetting is caused by chronic undiagnosed constipation. But with regular enemas and laxities and usually some stool softeners, it clears up pretty quickly. You have to give it some time, usually a month, or two, sometimes more, all depending on the severity of the constipation, for the colon to shrink back down to normal. But usually, within a week or two of treatment, you will see improvement. I have already diagnosed a few kids with that knowledge in mind and the parents came back to say thanks that their kids were already improving and staying dry through the night."

"So, what does this have to do with me? I'm not a bed wetter. Maybe when I was really little."

"It means you don't have one darn good reason, not to go on your trip. So go, and have fun. Go make me wish I was there with you." Blubbering a bit, "I miss you already, sniff, sniff."

Chuckling, "All right, I'll go, if I feel up to it, we'll see, but no promises."


End file.
